Fans could be left waiting even longer for the UFC heavyweight title unification fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
UFC fans have been left in the dark for several months regarding the status of a heavyweight title unification fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
An announcement seemed imminent after Aspinall revealed he’s been ‘sworn to secrecy’ but admitted he now knows what’s going on regarding talks.
UFC boss Dana White then recently provided a positive update on the fight, stating that he is still extremely confident the fight will happen.
UFC insider claims Aspinall has been convinced to fight Ciryl Gane
Despite that, fans have once again been dealt a big blow as UFC insider, Din Thomas, has claimed that Aspinall has instead been convinced to defend his interim title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 317.
Thomas isn’t the first UFC insider to make this claim as Chael Sonnen recently stated that Aspinall vs Gane is in the works.
Earlier this week, Aspinall set an unwanted record as the longest reigning UFC interim champion in the history of the promotion.
“If I had to put my money on it, I think they convinced Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane,” Thomas said in a recent interview with Mike Bohn.
“Tom wants to fight and he’ll be like, ‘Alright, I’ll fight’, and I think they’ll throw a number at Ciryl Gane. It won’t be ideal for him but they’ll throw and number that he can’t refuse and he’ll take it and I think it makes more sense that way.
“Jon is a chess player, he’s a very intellectual chess player. He’s trying to collect as much information on Tom Aspinall as possible. We haven’t seen him in a lot of tough spots, we don’t know how he’s gonna respond to that, and I think Jon is probably waiting on that.
“That’s probably what Jon is looking for from Tom Aspinall. Give him a couple more fights I want some more information before I say yes to this fight,” Thomas continued.
Jon Jones now second longest reigning UFC heavyweight champ
Earlier this week, ‘Bones’ became the second longest reigning UFC heavyweight champion, overtaking Stipe Miocic and now just behind Cain Velasquez.
If Jones continues to delay the fight for a further six months, he will overtake Velasquez as the longest reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history, despite only make one defense of his title.
Whether or not the 37-year-old does overtake the Mexican, fans have grown irritated by Jones’ antics and his adamance to not fight Aspinall will undoubtedly tarnish his legacy in the minds of a large majority of the fanbase.