Brendan Schaub called for Jon Jones to be stripped of his UFC heavyweight title.
Earlier this week, Dana White made a shocking announcement about Jones pulling out of UFC 295 due to a torn pectoral muscle. ‘Bones’ was expected to defend his heavyweight title for the first time in a legacy matchup against Stipe Miocic, which is now postponed.
As a result, Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich agreed to a short-notice fight in the UFC 295 co-main event for the interim heavyweight title. Yet, once Jones returns from injury, he’s expected to re-schedule his matchup with Miocic.
Therefore, it’s unclear if the winner of Pavlovich vs. Aspinall will defend their interim title or potentially wait over a year to fight again.
During a video posted on his YouTube channel, Brendan Schaub reacted to the ongoing heavyweight situation by saying:
“Jon Jones probably isn’t fighting for a year. He’s not getting any younger, and also, UFC missed the boat on this a little bit [by] not stripping him of the belt…When your champ is out at least a year with this injury, there should not be an interim title fight. It should just be the vacant belt.”
Schaub continued:
“So, they announced Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich and it’s for an interim heavyweight title. That doesn’t make any sense in any facet. Even if Jon wasn’t going to retire, even if the fight went on, you weren’t going to have a true heavyweight champ. So, you get Sergei and Tom Aspinall fighting for an interim belt that makes no freaking sense. That should be just for the straight-up vacant world title fight.”
The full update from Jon Jones on his injury that forced him out of UFC 295.
(via @JonnyBones) pic.twitter.com/0HBcdRqI57
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 27, 2023
Brendan Schaub believes the short-notice training camps for Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich won’t allow them to compete at their best
There’s no doubt that Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich is an electric matchup in the UFC heavyweight division. With that said, they will only have slightly over two weeks to prepare for their top-ranked opponent.
During the previously mentioned YouTube video, Brendan Schaub had this to say about Aspinall and Pavlovich potentially not being able to compete at their maximum potential:
“It’s all good on the fight side, we love this. As a fighter though, it kinda sucks because you’re getting the biggest opportunity of your life, and you’re on a two-week notice…It’s not ideal for those guys. As a consumer, you just see the names and you think, ‘This can be so dope.’ You’re right, but the problem is you’re getting a watered-down version. So, you’re not getting the elite of the elite at their complete 100% effort because they’re only getting two-week camps.”
Regardless of the short-notice timeline, Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich is a must-see fight.
On one side, Aspinall holds a 6-1 promotional record, all wins inside the distance, with his lone loss being a 15-second defeat against Curtis Blaydes due to a non-contact knee injury.
Meanwhile, Pavlovich is also 6-1 in the Octagon, with his loss being against Alistair Overeem in his promotional debut. Since then, the Russian has dominated his opponents with six consecutive first-round KO/TKOs.
Watch Brendan Schaub discuss Jon Jones’ injury and the UFC heavyweight title situation below:
