UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes is the latest to put the pressure on Dana White to strip Jon Jones.
Seven months since Jon Jones finished Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, a timeline for a potential Jones vs. Tom Aspinall showdown remains foggy.
Jones, Aspinall and their teams have been in talks with the UFC brass for months to make the heavyweight title unification bout come to fruition. But Jones has repeatedly teased potentially retiring in recent weeks, and Aspinall recently hinted at having a date and location for his return fight, whether it’s against Jones or another contender.
Aspinall’s two-time rival is among those fed up with the ongoing Jones vs. Aspinall saga.
Curtis Blaydes adds to growing calls for the UFC to strip Jon Jones
Alexander Volkov came out publicly and accused the UFC of granting Jones unfair ‘privilege’ in leaving the division in a holding pattern. Volkov is one of several top contenders who has expressed frustration with how the UFC has handled the Jones situation.
White made headlines earlier this week when he revealed a two-week deadline to book Jones vs. Aspinall, or the promotion will ‘move on’. Aspinall hasn’t competed since finishing Curtis Blaydes to defend his interim belt at UFC 304.
Aspinall’s most-recent opponent echoed Volkov’s sentiment on the state of the UFC’s heavyweight division.
During his UFC Baku media day press conference, Blaydes went off on Jones’s ongoing hiatus from the Octagon.
“Him having the belt and refusing to fight Aspinall, it halts the division, it makes it impossible for any of us to have any future projections,” Blaydes said of Jones. “How can I project when, who knows who has the real belt? The undisputed belt. We need to get to the bottom of that. And my answer is, you strip him, it’s not that hard. You’ve done it a bunch of times before.
“You strip him, and if that p—– him off, maybe that’ll get him to fight. If not, he just retires, which is alright also. He’s the GOAT, he doesn’t have to fight, but if he wants to hold on to that belt, he needs to fight.”
Jones won the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in 2023. Since then, Jones has fought just once, finishing Miocic at UFC 309.
Jones and Miocic were supposed to headline UFC 295 before Jones withdrew due to injury, leading to Aspinall facing Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title bout. Aspinall knocked out Pavlovich in the first round.
Blaydes has fought three times since Jones’s heavyweight title win at UFC 285. He’s lost two of his last three fights and returns this Saturday at UFC Baku against Rizvan Kuniev.
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Petition for the UFC to strip Jon Jones is closing in on 200,000 signatures
As frustration continues to skyrocket surrounding Jones’s hiatus, a petition calling him to be stripped of his heavyweight title is approaching 200,000 signatures. Jones has repeatedly dismissed the petition, and claimed he doesn’t care if the UFC strips him of his belt.
If Jones doesn’t return in 2025, Aspinall will face another top contender for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Gane, Volkov, and Jailton Almeida are all potential options for Aspinall’s next opponent if the Jones fight falls through.
As the UFC’s International Fight Week event quickly approaches, we’re still waiting for answers on the states of Jones vs. Aspinall. An announcement by White and the matchmakers appears imminent.
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