Tom Aspinall: Reach helps Jon Jones land takedowns, but ‘he’s an average size heavyweight’
Tom Aspinall wonders if Jon Jones’ physical attributes will give him the same advantages at heavyweight.
Former light heavyweight champion Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) dominated his division and entered most of his fights with a whopping reach advantage – which Aspinall says helped him not only with striking, but his wrestling.
But now that Jones is making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4, Aspinall isn’t sure if he’ll be able to implement his wrestling as effectively – even though he’ll have a 3.5-inch reach advantage over the Frenchman.
“Jon Jones is an amazing wrestler,” Aspinall said in an interview with Jamal Niaz. “The massive advantage he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling – his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight, whereas at heavyweight, he’s an average size heavyweight.
“He’s 6-(foot)-4, I think, so he’s pretty much average size, average height heavyweight, at least. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height. It’s yet to be seen. But Gane is a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight. Like, his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good.”
Gane has given fits to all his opposition on the feet, possessing speed, technique and footwork unlike any heavyweight. Although Jones is coming off a layoff of more than three years, Aspinall says it’s the move up a division that could play a factor.
“I don’t think the inactivity would affect someone like Jon Jones because he’s had like 50 million title fights,” Aspinall said. “He’s had so much experience, a few years off won’t affect him. I think more (that will) affect him is carrying his own weight and carrying someone else’s weight who’s really mobile like Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane was more of a plodding heavyweight, more of a flat-footed guy, he would have a lot of an easier time than he would someone like Ciryl.”
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