The Big Lead

Like it or not, Jon Jones's next fight will be against Tom Aspinall

Jones doesn't want to give the interim champ his shot, and Dana White doesn't care

By Javon Edmonds

Nov 13, 2024; New York, New York, USA; UFC mixed martial arts heavyweight champion Jon Jones poses for a photo before a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Nov 13, 2024; New York, New York, USA; UFC mixed martial arts heavyweight champion Jon Jones poses for a photo before a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images
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UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has been insistent upon not fighting interim champion Tom Aspinall. However, UFC CEO Dana White is putting his foot down.

Jones will defend his title against two-time champion Stipe Miocic on Saturday, and says he's only interested in super fights afterward, including one against current light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. If that fight can't be made, Jones says he'll be happy to retire.

White, who religiously defends Jones as the greatest fighter in UFC history, may have to bid farewell to Jones then.

During a Thursday appearance on the Jim Rome Show, White told Rome that Aspinall is next in line for the title.

"If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall," White said.

The statement came after White explained why he will not sign off on a Jones-Pereira fight for the BMF title, as Jones has requested.

He claims Pereira, a former middleweight, is too small for Jones. What White has neglected to mention this far is a common rule of thumb for interim champions in combat sports.

Interim championships are created because the champion won't be defending their belt for an extended period of time but aren't being stripped of the belt. When the champion returns, it is tradition that they face the interim to decide the true champion of the division.

For that reason alone, it is somewhat baffling that Jones-Miocic is happening on Saturday. It is a fight between two of the most iconic fighters of their generation, but Miocic is 42 years old and hasn't fought since losing the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in Mar. 2021.

Also, Aspinall's last fight was four months ago. As White reiterated at Thursday's UFC 309 press conference, the winner of Jones-Miocic "should absolutely fight Tom [Aspinall]."

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