Jon Jones had plenty to say about the recent announcements surrounding UFC 304 in Manchester — specifically the interim heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes.
After sitting on the sidelines for three years, ‘Bones’ returned to the Octagon in March 2023 and claimed the vacant heavyweight crown with a quick two-minute submission victory over Ciryl Gane. Since then, Jones has not defended the strap. Originally he was scheduled to defend the belt against consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November, but a pectoral injury forced him to bow out of the bout.
That prompted the UFC to book an interim title fight between Aspinall and knockout artist Sergei Pavlovic. Aspinall finished the Russian in 69 seconds, claiming his first world title.
Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more like Aspinall will never get the chance to unify his title with Jones’.
Instead, ‘Bones’ will return later this year to finish some business with Miocic. Once that’s done, Jones already appears ready to sign on the dotted line for a fight with Alex Pereira, completely bypassing Tom Aspinall for a second time.
With Jon Jones putting his focus elsewhere, Aspinall is moving on and choosing to defend his interim title against Curtis Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event on Saturday, July 27.
“Curtis versus Tom for the official number one contender spot!” Jones wrote on X in response to the news of Aspinall vs. Blaydes.
https://x.com/JonnyBones/status/1791272008279294424
Jon Jones Reveals November 9 Date for Stipe Miocic Fight
The announcement left fans frustrated with many of them lighting up Jones on social media, accusing the former 205-pound king of holding up the heavyweight division in pursuit of a fight that nobody asked for and means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
“Trolls telling me I’m slowing down the division by getting injured,” Jones added. “Meanwhile, the next two heavyweights aren’t even a main event? Interesting. I’m on the right path, I got until November to remind the world. Again.”
No official announcements have been made regarding when Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic would finally clash inside the Octagon, but it appears that the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden in November has been earmarked for their contentious clash.
“I’m definitely not retired,” Jones posted. “Sitting on my porch sore all over enjoying some time in the Metaverse. November 9 can’t come soon enough. I’m earning it every day. Just like I always have.”
