Michael Bisping doesn’t agree with people calling for Jon Jones to vacate the UFC heavyweight title.
The MMA community was stunned last month when news broke that Jones had pulled out of his heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 main event. ‘Bones’ was diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle after suffering the severe injury while training.
In the following days, Dana White announced Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall would fight on short notice for the interim heavyweight title in the UFC 295 co-main event.
Typically, the interim title-holder would fight the division’s fellow champion next, meaning Pavlovich or Aspinall vs. Jones. Yet, the current plan for the UFC is to reschedule Jones vs. Miocic once ‘Bones’ recovers from his injury.
As a result, there have been some calls for Jones to vacate the title, so Aspinall or Pavlovich don’t have to potentially endure an extended layoff after UFC 295. During an interview with MMA Junkie, Michael Bisping had this to say about the situation:
“When people get injured, they bring in interim belts. People don’t get stripped, generally, they bring in interim belts. So, I don’t know why all of a sudden Jon Jones of all people, the greatest of all time, why should the rules not apply to the greatest of all time.”
Michael Bisping continued by saying this about Jon Jones deserving to maintain the UFC heavyweight title:
“If anything, they should definitely apply. So, anybody that thinks he should be stripped, they’re talking out of their backside. They don’t know what they are talking about.”
Michael Bisping says the UFC interim heavyweight title is “the perfect move”
Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich seem more focused on challenging Jon Jones for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title. With that said, both hard-hitting heavyweights understand the opportunity being presented by them in the UFC 295 co-main event.
While speaking with MMA Junkie, Michael Bisping had this to say about how interim titles benefit everyone involved:
“[An interim title] keeps the division moving. It establishes a next number one contender, and then when they do the fight, it’s champion vs. champion. It makes it a little bit bigger. So, I think it’s the perfect move [to utilize an interim heavyweight title].”
On Saturday night, Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich will enter Madison Square Garden with momentum.
When it comes to Pavlovich, the Russian has won six consecutive fights by first-round KO/TKO. As for Aspinall, he got back on track with a first-round knockout against Marcin Tybura in July. It’ll be intriguing to see who is crowned the interim heavyweight champion.
Watch Michael Bisping discuss the interim UFC heavyweight title situation:
Michael Bisping (@bisping) defends @JonnyBones from claims he should've been stripped after withdrawing from #UFC295.
"Anyone that thinks he should be stripped, they're talking out of their backside." pic.twitter.com/H56Tr0NB0S
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 9, 2023
