Well besides those 3 years when he was out, and the 2+ years he spent suspended over the years, and all the times he only fought once per year…
If he truly wasn’t bothered, we wouldn’t get a paragraph from him on twitter every time someone mentions his name in a negative way.
Absolutely agree. He has a point, but he also has been the opposite of active for the last 7-8 years.
I don’t even think he has much of a point anymore due to the inactivity. Not at heavy weight with one fight against someone with little wrestling skills and after he lost his last fight at LHW to Reyes (who is probably not among this “absolute toughest competition”), no matter what the score cards said. Other unproven champions get stripped all the time when they’re injured.
Why should we believe that he is the exciting guy at HW and presumably past his prime. The last time he beat a legend was 6,5 years ago in another division (Cormier) – and it was overturned due to doping!
So yes, in a literal sense he is right of course, he fought legends and Aspinall didn’t. But I’d rather watch Aspinall v Stipe for the title with Jones stripped than Jones v Stipe and I think it would be more deserving as well. So I don’t think he has much of a point in any practical sense.