Jon Jones continues to be accused of holding the UFC heavyweight title hostage.
The UFC heavyweight division has had two champions for 18 months, but there remains no confirmation that they will actually meet inside the cage.
That won’t be down to the interim titleholder, though. Aspinall wants to fight Jones, and he’s made that clear ever since knocking out Sergei Pavlovich to win his belt.
‘Bones’, on the other hand, has long been dismissive of the British fighter and any talk of a unification fight. That stance has resulted in Aspinall breaking a UFC record to become the longest-reigning interim titleholder in history.
The ongoing wait continues to frustrate Aspinall — and he’s far from alone.
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Close to 20,000 sign petition to strip Jon Jones of his UFC title in its first week
For months, social media posts from Jones and the UFC have been bombarded by fans demanding to see the heavyweight titles unified.
Recently, Dana White insisted Jones vs. Aspinall will happen. But that didn’t do much to reassure the fans, some of whom have gone a step further than simply posting on X.
On May 16, a change.org petition was created calling for the UFC to strip Jones of his title. It’s amassed close to 20,000 signatures in just seven days.
“Jon Jones is now the longest reigning champion in UFC heavyweight history and has only fought 2 times in that period,” the petition’s ‘issue’ section reads.
“There is a clear interim champion, Tom Aspinall, who has defended his interim championship belt. Aspinall is ready to fight Jones. Jones refuses to fight him.
“Therefore, we as fans must let Dana White know: It is time to strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title. He clearly has no intentions of fighting anytime soon.”
The support behind the petition shows no sign of slowing, with new signatures being added each minute.
Whether it will gain any attention from the UFC and Dana White, however, remains to be seen.
Jon Jones appears unfazed by calls to strip him
The comments on the petition share a similar sentiment.
“A retired man can’t be the current champion. End of story.”
“Tom real champ”
“Stop holding up the ability of anyone contending for the belt. UFC wake listen to the people.”
“Time is up Jon.”
“Absolutely holding up a division. In what other sport is the champion allowed to dictate when they compete?”
But Jones would likely claim to be unbothered by such remarks, as he has done when responding to his detractors on social media.
During his recent stint of activity on X, ‘Bones’ drew the ire of more fans after reiterating the likelihood of his retirement.
In one reaction to a user who said he’ll be stripped, Jones laughed off any suggestion that having the belt taken away would affect him.
“Stripped? Lol do I come across as the type of person who cares about things like that?”
He does have a track record in that regard.
Jones was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title more than once, so it’s perhaps realistic to expect the Rochester native to have a relaxed reaction to another instance.