Current UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones (28-1, 1 NC MMA, 22-1, 1 NC UFC) is still basking in his title victory during the Nov. 16 UFC 309 main event versus the now-retired Stipe Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC). Three weeks ago, the crowd inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden, The World’s Most Famous Arena, saw “Bones” send Miocic into retirement with a fourth-round knockout by way of spinning back fist followed by punches.
Since then, the obvious question for the king of the mountain at 265 lbs. has been an obvious one: To quote the great sports entertainer Bill Goldberg: “Who’s next?”
As far as the answer, it’s become a little murky. Although Jon Jones has said that he would prefer a superfight against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), a heavyweight unification battle with incumbent UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) could be in the offing. Back in late July, Aspinall made a successful defense of the interim heavyweight strap via first-round knockout (counter jab and ground and pound shots against Curtis Blaydes during the UFC 304 co-main event of the evening.
“Bones” Firmly In Control of Situation
During the Tuesday edition of MMA Today on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation, Brandon Gibson, Jon Jones’ coach, was interviewed by program hosts Din Thomas and Alan Jouban about the possibility of the champion and interim champion meeting in the famed UFC Octagon at some point in the future. Gibson cleared the air and said that his fighter hasn’t been steering clear of the contest versus the interim champion.
🗣️"I always told Jon [Jones], you don't owe anybody anything." @SixGunGibson doesn't feel that @JonnyBones is ducking @AspinallMMA. 💪
MMA Today w/@DinThomas + @AlanJouban pic.twitter.com/XTWntoO93o
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) December 3, 2024
“I think it’s about timing,” the coach began. “I think it’s about getting the most out of this fight game. I’ve been in it for a long time, as I know you guys have, and it’s not always a fair game. People don’t always get what they want in this game. I think Jon’s in a powerful position right now to really hold the cards in his favor and make sure that he gets out of it what he wants.”
Gibson Knows Fans Demand Unification Battle
Later on in the interview, Gibson weighed in on the viewers’ interest in the unification bout for supremacy in the 265-lb. weight class.
“I think the fans want that [unification battle against Tom Aspinall] from a lineal standpoint,” Gibson continued on SiriusXM. “You want to see the belt get passed, not the belt get vacated, but I always tell Jon, ‘Dude, you don’t owe anybody anything.’ We owed Stipe Miocic and the UFC that night on Nov. 16. That’s what we owed.”
Gibson mentioned that the only obstacle to the heavyweight championship unification fight against Tom Aspinall becoming an eventual reality are the contract discussions between Jon Jones and the promotion.
Lack of Available Film on Aspinall No Concern for Jones Camp
Timewise, Tom Aspinall’s fights are short affairs. As of the July 27 fight versus “Razor”, the interim heavyweight champion hasn’t lasted longer than three minutes and 59 seconds into the second round of a contest, with that stoppage coming in 2015 in a loss by way of submission (heel hook) versus Stuart Austin in BAMMA 21.
In spite of the dearth of footage at Jon Jones’ camp’s disposal on Tom Aspinall, Gibson is unfazed.
“I actually think Jon is a tough matchup for Aspinall,” he said. “Obviously, we haven’t seen Tom with an average fight time of two and a half minutes, we haven’t seen much of Tom, but that’s also a positive on our part. Jon is great taking championship-caliber level fighters into deep waters. Jon is great in that fourth round and that fifth round.”
Final Thoughts
At day’s end, the decision on who Jon Jones fights next under the UFC promotional banner, be it Alex “Poatan” Pereira in a superfight or Tom Aspinall in a unification bout, rests with the man himself.
