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Topics: Joe Rogan, Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, UFC
Nasir Jabbar
Joe Rogan could regret his comment about Jon Jones and Conor McGregor following the UFC legend's retirement.
Jones has retired from the UFC amid discussions for him to face Tom Aspinall, who held the interim title during prolonged negotiations.
Dana White confirmed the news during Saturday's press conference following UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. in Baku, Azerbaijan, as he made Aspinall the new UFC undisputed heavyweight champion.
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Jones released a statement shortly after White's bombshell announcement.
'Bones' walks away from the UFC, having failed to entertain one of the toughest propositions of his storied career.
Aspinall has won eight of his nine UFC contests, winning each bout inside the distance.
But, unfortunately for him and MMA fans across the world, the Brit won't have the opportunity to test his skills against a fighter that is regarded as the GOAT.
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Rogan holds Jones in high regards and spoke glowingly about him following his dominant victory over Stipe Miocic last November.
After UFC 309, he compared Jones to McGregor, claiming the American has 'never ducked anybody' in a comment that has aged terribly following his retirement and latest legal woes.
"Jon's in a different category," he said on his podcast. "Conor self-destructed in a lot of ways because of money. He took that fight with Floyd Mayweather, made a ton of money off that, and then took a long time before he came back to MMA, and he's just not been the same guy since.
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"And I think that's just - it's money, it's a lot of partying, but it's the same kind of thing. It's just a wild (change). But when Conor was in his prime, he was a f**king assassin."
Rogan added: "Jon is a special dude. When he's gone, we're all going to miss him. He's a different kind of guy. I mean, he's been at the top for 14 f**king years. He was the youngest guy to ever win a UFC title, 23... But when Jon Jones won that title at 23, it's just been destruction of everyone ever since.
"Never ducked anybody, fought all the best, destroyed everybody, and dominated his division, (then) went up to heavyweight, dominates at heavyweight."