Demetrious doesn't understand why Jon Jones retired with 'cloud over his head'

Former UFC and ONE champion Demetrious Johnson was hoping for more clarification on why Jon Jones didn't fight Tom Aspinall.

Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) chose to retire and relinquish his UFC heavyweight title instead of fighting Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Johnson questions if Jones' recent legal issues played a part in his decision.

"I think Jon Jones, after he beat Stipe Miocic, I think he was totally down to fight Tom Aspinall, and I think Jon Jones asked for $30 million thinking the UFC was not going to give that to him," Johnson said on his YouTube channel. "Was it this whole night bender with the mushrooms with this chick changed his mindset or what? But this is the thing that we will never know and get down to the nitty gritty of: It is that we'll never hear from Jones' mouth on why he didn't want to take the Tom fight."

Johnson used himself as an example when his super fight with T.J. Dillashaw didn't materialize. The former UFC flyweight champion says he was willing to fight Dillashaw, but the UFC didn't want to pay what he asked for. Meanwhile, the situation with Jones never appeared to be about money, which is why Johnson wanted a more honest explanation out of him.

"When I was about to fight T.J. Dillashaw, I asked for a million dollars and they said no," Johnson continued. "I was like, 'OK, well then I have no leverage. We're not going to fight.' Now, if T.J. was the No. 1 contender, and he was on a three, five-fight win streak in the flyweight division, I would have f*cking fought him. No ifs, ands, or buts. Jones, I don't understand why he didn't fight him, and if Jones was like, 'Dude I was not going to fight Tom Aspinall, he's young, he's athletic, he's dangerous, I don't want to risk my legacy.' Perfect.

"That's all I needed to hear. He doesn't have to fight Tom Aspinall. Even the fact that he said he was going to do it and had a change of heart, that's fine. People have a change of heart. People get cold feet. There's nothing wrong with that. But the fact that he retires, and there's this cloud over his head where if you ask the casuals, the people who don't follow the sport, they're not going to know about the stripped belts, the loss to Matt Hamill."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champion laments Jon Jones retirement for one reason