Tom Aspinall Calls for Jon Jones to Be Stripped of UFC Heavyweight Title amid Injury

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall believes that Jon Jones should be stripped of the weight class' belt as he recovers from a torn pectoral tendon.

Aspinall made his remarks in an interview with ex-MMA fighter and current analyst and commentator Michael Bisping:

"I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that," Aspinall said (h/t Danny Segura of MMA Junkie). "I don't see why he's still got it. I don't understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now.

"It's hard to say without sounding rude, but who's asked about Jon Jones and Stipe anymore? Why do we get this legacy fight, and they get to live by their own rules? What's a legacy fight, a retirement fight for a title? I want to fight Stipe and then I want to fight Jon Jones. … I think all this other stuff is rubbish. Stop protecting him now. Stop protecting your boy Jon Jones at the top. If he's injured, get out of the way and I'll fight Stipe."

Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight title after a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last Saturday.

Jones is still the current heavyweight champion after winning the then-vacant title in his weight class debut, which resulted in a first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane in March.

Jones' first title defense was scheduled for last Saturday against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, but he suffered a torn pectoral tendon off the bone in training. Per UFC President Dana White, the injury requires surgery, and he's expected to be out for around eight months.

Per ESPN's Marc Raimondi, the hope is for Jones vs. Miocic to be rescheduled sometime in 2024.

However, Aspinall wants a shot at Miocic now, and he then seeks a matchup against Jones.

"That fight is completely dead in the water now," Aspinall said regarding a potential Jones-Miocic bout.

"You have a new champion at the weight, which is me. You got Stipe, who by the time Jon Jones comes back will have fought once in four years, and he's 42 years old, and he's got one fight where he got knocked out, and now he's going to fight Jones, who's coming off a big injury and again had one fight in three years.

"Again, who's going to be bothered by that fight in a years time? Let's move on. I'm the champion now. I'll fight Stipe, he's available. Me and Stipe will fight, and then when I beat Stipe, I'll fight Jon Jones."

Although Aspinall is just the interim champion, he can still hold his head high given a tremendous run of late capped by the first-round knockout. The 30-year-old has won 10 of his 11 matches en route to a 14-3 lifetime record.