(...) But then again if Jones is really playing some kind of mind game then Aspinall just took the bait. What Aspinall should do is just fight whoever is next for him and worry less about Jones.
I can't see any bait here. Aspinall is definitely gaining of the whole situation with majority of the fans jumping on his side.
To me, it looks like he was reserved and overly-respectful to Jon, but then said "f that" and went all in into calling him out. Now Jones is in the tough spot - he can retire after beating Stipe but it won't be a nice farewell, he would get a lot of hate from the fans, or he could take the fight with Tom and risk a loss.
BUT, if Jones actually wants to fight Tom and all this is just a way to hype it up, then well-played for him, it works perfectly.
Anyway, what do you guys think of the Bo Nickal fight going over 1.5 rounds..? It's at 2.30 right now. Could be a good value bet as Paul Craig is a vet in the game. He knows the only way to win the fight is to make it look close and to drag it along to a decision.
Craig's master move is triangle choke from the back, and that's the way Bo lost his jiu-jitsu fight with Gordon Ryan, meaning it's possible Nickal could prefer to engage in a striking match (I think he might be slightly better striker than Paul). That, in turn, could make the fight last longer.
I'm not convinced Paul would want to take it to the distance as there's a risk judges would strongly prefer to give it the prospective rising star (if the fight is close). I think he'll be looking for submission instead, but probably it would have to be Bo who takes it to the ground and Craig will be looking to submit him from the defence, like he did plenty of times.
