Morning Report | Georges St-Pierre gives advice to Tom Aspinall over Jon Jones situation

Georges St-Pierre says Tom Aspinall needs to stop worrying about Jon Jones.

For over a year, Aspinall has been trying to get a fight with Jones to unify the UFC heavyweight titles. It hasn’t been going well. First, the interim heavyweight champion was passed over in favor of a legacy fight with former champion Stipe Miocic this past November. Now, the latest rumors are that negotiations are still stalled on a potential fight, and the UFC is even looking at having Aspinall defend his interim title for a second time this summer. It’s an increasingly frustrating situation for Aspinall and his camp, but one St-Pierre says he has to try not to worry about.

“I think Tom, he needs to focus on the next task,” St-Pierre told Ariel Helwani. “I remember when I lost to Matt Serra, I was making the mistake of trying to focus on Matt Serra to try and get my revenge immediately. But I had a few other fights lined up before to get that. And if he is only focusing on Jon Jones, and if Jon Jones does not come back right away, he’s not focusing on the right thing. He needs to focus on what is next, the next path. Because the rest, it’s a distraction.

“Things that need to be done will be done. I don’t know what Jon will do, but as a fan, I would love to see this fight. Because in terms of legacy and accomplishment, Jon Jones is the best. And I understand Tom, from his point of view, he’s a proud fighter. He wants to beat the best, but now it all depends on what Jon wants to do. If Jon still wants to do this, if he’s compensated fairly, all that plays. So Tom should not focus on that because it’s outside of his control, and he’s wasting a lot of energy focusing on that.”

It’s easy to understand why Aspinall might be frustrated. He is now officially the longest-tenured interim champion in UFC history, surpassing Renan Barao’s 535 days as the interim bantamweight champion while Dominick Cruz was injured. Aspinall is in an unprecedented situation of simply waiting to see what Jones decides to do, and the UFC appears content to let Jones take his time. But even so, St-Pierre encourages Aspinall to put that from his mind.

“I know it’s very hard, but you need to sort of self-[hypnotize] himself to focus on the next thing and be hungry about the next task,” St-Pierre said. “And by doing this, only focusing on the next thing, next thing, next thing, he’s going to build up his legacy, and perhaps one day he’s going to be the greatest. He’s got all the tools.”

And for his part, St-Pierre also understands where Jones is coming from. The welterweight GOAT had his own struggles with the UFC and contract negotiations at times, so he gets where Jones is coming from.

“A lot of people want this fight to happen because a lot of people believe he’s the guy that’s going to crack Jon Jones’s code,” St-Pierre said. “As a fan, I want to see this fight. I understand both sides. Jon wants to be compensated. It’s a negotiation game. It’s a chess game. And on the other side, Tom is waiting. I understand both points of view, but Tom needs to focus on what’s next, and the rest, sort of clear your mind and only focus on that thing.”

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As of today, Tom Aspinall is officially the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history. There should be a rule, if you’re interim champ for over a year, you’re just the real champ. It’s time — past time — for the UFC to either make this fight or strip Jon Jones.

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