Jon Jones Is Holding The UFC Heavyweight Title Hostage
HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Jon Jones celebrates his victory over Dominick Reyes in their light ... More heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 247 event at Toyota Center on February 08, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
With no UFC fight card on the schedule, the MMA world has seemingly turned its attention to Jon Jones and the fact that the UFC heavyweight champion has not booked a title unification bout against interim heavyweight kingpin Tom Aspinall. Veteran boxing pundit Teddy Atlas recently offered his opinion on Jones and his time with the UFC heavyweight crown.
'Jon Jones has been inactive in spots in his career,' Atlas told Slingo. "There's no doubt about it. And you could say, well, now you are keeping the title hostage. Yeah, I'll use a strong word, because that's where you're going. And again, I think there's two different things here.
"One is personally as a competitor, as a champion. That word invokes more than just the ability to fight. It invokes how you behave, how you carry yourself, what you believe in.
"And he's a champion. I believe he's a real champion. He always has been. He always behaves like one, so I think that you do have a personal obligation to [behave like a champion and ]
'Then [you have to] deal with what comes with being a champion - you gotta give someone else a chance to get what you had a chance to get within a certain period.'
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO ... More victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
Jon Jones won the vacant UFC heavyweight title in March 2023, securing a submission win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.
The expectation was that Jones would defend that title against former two-time champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023. However, that plan fell to pieces when Jones was forced from the card with a torn pec.
With Jones on the sideline and UFC CEO Dana White standing by his decision to make the Jones vs. Miocic fight for the UFC heavyweight title, the promotion opted to insert Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight belt at UFC 295. At the time, Aspinall was ranked No. 4 in the division, while Pavlovich checked in at No. 2.
The interim heavyweight title fight lasted 69 seconds, with Aspinall ending the bout via knockout.
The Jones vs. Miocic fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against ... More Curtis Blaydes in the interim UFC heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion.
Aspinall has recently voiced his displeasure about waiting for Jones to sign on for a title unification bout, while Jones has said the UFC has known his career plans for a long time and didn't know why the promotion was not communicating those plans.
UFC CEO Dana White has remained hopeful that the Jones vs. Aspinall fight will take place in 2025.
We will have more on the potential Jones vs. Aspinall title unification bout as news becomes available.
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