‘There’s A Way To Go For The English Lad’

Former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has defended Jon Jones amid recent criticizm over his apparent reluctance to face-off with current interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall – with the Dubliner claiming the latter still has “a way to go” in order to land a fight with the former pound-for-pound kingpin. 

Jones, himself a current heavyweight gold holder to boot, has been sidelined since March of last year, headlining UFC 285 in a first round guillotine win over Ciryl Gane to land the vacant heavyweight crown.

And ruled from a November return last year against Stipe Miocic after suffering a pectoral tendon tear, Jones leaked last week how he is all but set to return at UFC 309 later this annum in Madison Square Garden, in a rescheduled title defense against the Ohio veteran.

Conor McGregor defends Jon Jones from criticizm

As for the above-mentioned interim gold holder, Aspinall, the Manchester native returns in July in the co-main event of UFC 304, taking on Curtis Blaydes in defense of his interim heavyweight championship, with the pair rematching. 

Receiving mass flak on social media for apparently delaying a title unification bout with Aspinall, Jones has seen a former champion come to his defense in the form of McGregor, who claims the Atherton native has a lot to do before earning a fight with the former.

“Thoughts on (Jon) Jones avoiding (Tom) Aspinall? I disagree with that, I think the Jones [versus] Stipe (Miocic) fight is huge,” Conor McGregor said during a live stream. “I’m excited to see it. There’s a way to go for the English lad to come up and get that ‘There’s A Way To Go For The English Lad’. I think the matchmaking has been stellar, I think Curtis (Blaydes) and Tom is a good fight and you know, we’ll see after that.” 

Do you agree with Conor McGregor’s thoughts on Jon Jones?