According to Chael Sonnen, the highly anticipated fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall is reportedly not finalized after all.
Just a day after asserting that the heavyweight title unification match was “agreed, all the way down to the date,” Sonnen has characteristically retracted that statement. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former three-time UFC title challenger explained that while he initially understood Jones would face Aspinall next, a new obstacle has appeared preventing that specific matchup.
“Okay, I might have said that,” Sonnen admitted. “And I did believe it was true. So, I remember – I might have said it. It would be easy to verify since I record and post everything. But one thing I absolutely recall telling you, word for word, is that Tom Aspinall’s next fight is set, though I didn`t know for certain it would be against Jon Jones. I then also stated that if Jon Jones fights again, his next opponent will be Tom Aspinall. I did tell you that.”
Instead of a clash with Jones, Sonnen now anticipates Aspinall will defend his interim belt against Ciryl Gane, another former interim champion.
“The current plan right now appears to be Tom Aspinall versus Ciryl Gane for the interim championship,” Sonnen stated. “Now, I will support these decisions fully and with integrity. Because our core principle, the very constitution of MMA, is our fierce adherence to the rules we invent as we go. So, I`m on board and I`ll support anything that concludes with a world championship.”
The complex situation in the heavyweight division arose after Francis Ngannou left the UFC in 2023 while still champion. Jon Jones then moved up from light heavyweight and quickly defeated Gane at UFC 285 to become the new champion. However, Jones was injured and pulled out of a planned defense against Stipe Miocic eight months later. This unfortunate event led to Aspinall winning an interim title by defeating Alexander Volkov.
Both fighters have since defended their respective titles: Aspinall beat Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, and Jones defeated Miocic in their rescheduled fight at UFC 309. Despite Aspinall boasting a strong 8-1 UFC record, Jones has consistently dismissed the idea of fighting him, questioning his credentials, particularly given Jones himself has only competed twice in the heavyweight division.
Regardless of differing opinions, Sonnen suggests that for the highly anticipated Jones vs. Aspinall fight to potentially happen in the future, Aspinall must first deliver another impactful performance.
“Not only will we have both [an interim and undisputed champion], we will be contesting the interim championship for a second time,” Sonnen remarked. “But we will do it for the first time with the undisputed champion present, and it may or may not happen in nine weeks at International Fight Weekend.”
“I am here to inform you, based on a remarkably reliable source, that Jon Jones will be granted the ability to wait 180 days, which is six months, exactly what he requested,” Sonnen added. “Tom Aspinall is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane. This was actually considered many months ago, and then Ciryl was awarded a decision in a fight he actually lost against [Alexander] Volkov – that`s the real story. And now we are going to defend an interim championship while the undisputed champion exists. This defies the laws of logic and the Oxford English Dictionary`s definitions of champion, undisputed, and interim. But we will stick to the one thing we consistently do: rigidly follow the rules we invent as we proceed.”
