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Should Jon Jones be able to hold up the HW division?
When Dana White announced that Jon Jones was injured and out of UFC 295 back in October, Tom Aspinall was called upon to step in against Sergei Pavlovich to compete for the interim heavyweight title. Aspinall would emerge victorious and within 48 hours, began calling for Jones to be stripped of his title. Daniel Cormier also voiced the same sentiment.
Since then, Jones has issued a response:
Tom Aspinall replied directly to Jon’s post with this:
Dana White has chimed in, saying Jones will not be stripped, noting Jones and Stipe Miocic have ‘done their time’ and that they deserved it.
Fan and media replies have been entertaining, to say the least:
With ‘Bones’ out for a significant portion of 2024, Aspinall isn’t crazy for making the suggestion that Jones either be stripped or voluntarily vacate the title. However, young Tom hasn’t fully measured the weight of what Jon Jones brings to the table—a Hall of Fame career with zero defeats save the one DQ loss to Matt Hamill thanks to an antiquated rule determining that elbows from the 12-6 position are illegal.
Jonny is also the current pound-for-pound king and has been in that esteemed position on and off for the last decade. He’s fought everyone at light heavyweight but now that he’s moved up to 265, we’re in new territory, because he’s just got the one win over a wrestling-deficient Cyril Gane. Should his previous tenure at LHW be the determining factor, or should we re-evaluate him thanks to his newness to the division?
For me, I think the GOAT (yes, even though I abhor his behavior outside the cage, inside it, he’s earned the title) should be afforded the opportunity to recuperate and return without having the belt lifted off him. His expected time away will only be about eight months. If he can make his return by Oct. 28, 2024, that will be within the one-year timeframe (from his surgery) that UFC used to use as the metric by which to strip titles. They’ve been completely arbitrary about it over the last 6-8 years, but if we want a measuring stick to apply here, that’s about as close as you’ll get to one.
I understand Mr. Aspinall’s position. Here he is, interim heavyweight champ, and not only does he have to watch the division held up, he also doesn’t get a crack at Jones when he returns. Normally, that interim belt would ensure his spot at the undisputed title, but the UFC is dead set on Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, so Tom is left kind of hanging in the wind. I see you, sir. I salute your effort. I just happen to disagree with your proposal currently. Let’s revisit this in November next year if nothing has changed.
What do you think?
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