Tom Aspinall calls for Jon Jones to be stripped of the UFC heavyweight title. Aspinall believes he should be the real champion and questions the relevance of a fight between Jones and Miocic. He calls for a fight with Stipe first and then a fight with Jones.
| Tom Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, believes that Jon Jones should be stripped of his title as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.
| Aspinall argues that Jones should be treated like other champions who have been sidelined for an extended period and have had their titles stripped.
| Aspinall questions the relevance of a fight between Jones and Miocic and calls for a fight with Stipe first and then a fight with Jones.
| UFC CEO Dana White plans to reschedule the Jones vs. Miocic fight for later this year, with the winner facing Aspinall.
| Aspinall dismisses this plan and asserts that he is the champion now and should fight Stipe first before facing Jones.
Tom Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, believes that Jon Jones should be stripped of his title as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. Aspinall scored a vicious 69-second knockout against Sergei Pavlovich to capture the interim heavyweight title . The fight was arranged on short notice after Jones withdrew from his scheduled clash with Stipe Miocic due to a pectoral injury. Aspinall argues that Jones should be treated like other champions who have been sidelined for an extended period and have had their titles stripped.
Aspinall expressed his views on Michael Bisping’s YouTube channel, stating, "I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title to be honest because everyone else does when they get injured like that. I don’t see why he’s still got it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now."
Aspinall further questioned the relevance of a fight between Jones and Miocic, saying, "It’s hard to say without sounding rude, but who’s asked about Jon Jones and Stipe anymore? Why do we get this legacy fight, and they get to live by their own rules? What’s a legacy fight, a retirement fight for a title? I want to fight Stipe and then I want to fight Jon Jones. I think all this other stuff is rubbish. Stop protecting him now. Stop protecting your boy Jon Jones at the top. If he’s injured, get out of the way and I’ll fight Stipe." Aspinall believes that he should be the one to face Miocic and Jones, and that the current plans for Jones vs. Miocic should be scrapped.
UFC CEO Dana White, however, intends to reschedule the Jones vs. Miocic fight for later this year, with the winner moving on to face Aspinall. Aspinall dismisses this plan, stating, "That fight is completely dead in the water now. You have a new champion at the weight, which is me. You got Stipe, who by the time Jon Jones comes back will have fought once in four years, and he’s 42 years old, and he’s got one fight where he got knocked out, and now he’s going to fight Jones, who’s coming off a big injury and again had one fight in three years. Again, who’s going to be bothered by that fight in a year’s time? Let’s move on. I’m the champion now. I’ll fight Stipe, he’s available. Me and Stipe will fight, and then when I beat Stipe, I’ll fight Jon Jones."
