The winner of Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes will surely be facing either Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic! And this has been confirmed by none other than Dana White. Recently, the pre-fight press conference for UFC 304 was underway. However, barring some trashy back and forth between Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards, nothing surprising happened.
However, as far as Aspinall and Blaydes were concerned, Dana White’s announcement meant they would now have added zeal to win the bout.
As a matter of fact, the UFC heavyweight division has had an exciting set of events recently. When Francis Ngannou left the UFC in 2023, it was Jon Jones who stepped up and won the heavyweight championship. Submitting Ciryl Gane in Round 1, Jones announced his arrival to heavyweight in style.
However, before he could face Stipe Miocic in UFC 295, Gane tore his pectoral tendon. This forced the UFC to make an interim title bout between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. But despite Aspinall showing his dominance, Jon Jones was absolutely reluctant to face Tom Aspinall. But it might all change following the UFC head honcho’s announcement.
Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones: Hopes reignited?
Many people have been wondering what is next for Tom Aspinall. Even if he manages to beat Curtis Blaydes this Saturday, the British fighter will be left without an opponent. This is because the champion, Jon Jones, does not want to fight Tom Aspinall. There have been numerous attempts made by Tom Aspinall to secure a championship fight, but nothing has come to fruition as yet.
This is where Dana White’s announcement holds immense significance. When asked about the future of the UFC’s heavyweight division, White said that either Aspinall or Blaydes will “absolutely” face the undisputed champion. Well, even if this statement materializes, there are lingering doubts about the possibility of the same. The bout between Miocic and Jones is expected to take place sometime in November 2024.
This means that if a match were to happen between Aspinall/Blaydes and Jones/Miocic, it would not be until 2025. Here’s a fun fact, though. Jones is 37, and Miocic is 42. With age against their side, retirement rumors are going strong about both fighters.
Thus, if the champion retires, Dana White might have to reassess his statement. Meanwhile, looking at the confusion, Tom Aspinall has moved on from the Jon Jones fight.
Tom Aspinall is not considering the Jon Jones fight at the moment
Tom Aspinall recently appeared in the ‘Mainevent’ YouTube channel for an exclusive interview. Reflecting on his chances of facing Jon Jones, Aspinall stated that he knows ‘it’s not gonna happen.’ Aspinall also mentioned that his current main focus was the Curtis Blaydes fight. On the contrary, the Brit also seems to have planned for a backup in Alex Pereira.
A few days back, Aspinall expressed interest in facing the current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. The UFC interim heavyweight champion stated that he ‘absolutely’ wanted to fight him. Pereira, who has recently dominated the light heavyweight division, hinted at a possible move to heavyweight. Thus, a potential matchup between the two can very much be on the cards in the near future.
