UFC Must Scrap Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Jon Jones captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 285 back in March 2023. From that moment on, it was made clear that he would be defending his newly won belt against the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic. It has now been over a year later, and well, that fight has grown old and stale. UFC fans have made it clear that Jones and Miocic should not fight. The reason? Well, fans want Jones’ first title defense to be Tom Aspinall. Who, by the way, holds the Interim championship.

The UFC has thrived when it comes to giving fans fights they want to see. That is why we love watching… The best fight the best, plain and simple. When you look at the current state of the heavyweight division, particularly at the top, you’ll see that’s not the case.

What’s Taking So Long?

Injuries to Jon and Stipe have delayed their not-so-anticipated matchup to the point where we have no idea when they’ll fight. The problem is that so much has happened since these two were slated to face off in the octagon. We’ve also crowned a new and clear contender in the division. Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November to capture the Interim Heavyweight Championship. By all accounts, this would make Aspinall the clear number one contender to face Jones. Because of UFC’s rules, he’s supposed to unify the belts to determine the true undisputed champion at heavyweight.

Why is Jones-Aspinall Not Happening?

We have not gotten a clear-cut answer as to why Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall has not come to fruition. It seems like Dana White and the promotion have been dead set on him fighting Stipe Miocic since their fight was called off. The fact that we are still waiting on this fight is incredibly frustrating. Especially since nothing is even signed or speculated upon regarding an official date. Miocic has not been seen in action since March 2021, when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou. Even if he is the greatest heavyweight ever, having Stipe fight for a championship after such a long layoff sets a bad precedent going forward.

To make matters even worse, there are talks of Aspinall defending his interim title, which is about as oxymoronic as you can get considering the temporary purpose of the Interim Championship. Unfortunately for Tom and MMA fans, the promotion seems to be doing what it can to preserve the Jones-Miocic matchup. The UFC needs to do what they have always done and give fans the fight that they really want to see. Right now, that does not include Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic in 2024.

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About Post Author

Marcos Antelo

Longtime combat sports fan.

Creator of Talkin’ MMA.

Proud team member of The Scrap.

“I don’t care what color you are, what country you come from or what language you speak, fighting is in our DNA. We get it and we like it.”

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