Curtis Blaydes expects UFC to book undisputed heavyweight title fight without Jon Jones

USA Today

14-06-2025

Curtis Blaydes expects UFC to book undisputed heavyweight title fight without Jon Jones
Curtis Blaydes doubts Tom Aspinall will get his UFC title fight against Jon Jones.
Despite heavyweight champion Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) refusing to commit to a title-unification bout with Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), UFC CEO Dana White revealed last week that Jones agreed to fight Aspinall, but the paperwork is yet to be signed. Perennial contender Blaydes (18-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) isn't buying the talk and thinks Aspinall will end up fighting Ciryl Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next.
"I do believe that'll probably go to Gane because I don't think Jon's ever going to fight Aspinall," Blaydes told Inside Fighting.
Jones said in an interview on "Deepcut with VicBlends" that, "If I were to ever lose, I would be devastated. I would be angry, I'd be upset and depressed." Blaydes doesn't want to follow the narrative that Jones is ducking Aspinall but thinks the all-time great might not be willing to risk his legacy.
"I'm not going to be disrespectful and say he's scared. He can't be scared," Blaydes said. "If he was honest with himself, he hasn't beat a real prime heavyweight. You beat Ciryl Gane, he's got obvious holes in the grappling, and you beat an old Stipe (Miocic), who was rusty, and who did have you.
"There were moments in that fight where a younger Stipe maybe takes advantage of those. If Jon were to beat Tom, we would all be like, 'OK, he legitimately is the GOAT, he legitimately won the heavyweight title.' I think it would help him – even if he lost, bro, we get it, you're old, you're not a real heavyweight. We get it. You can lose. It's OK.'"