The petition to strip UFC heavyweight title John Jones has already gained support when he joked that he wanted the online effort to end with 200,000 signatures, but in reality, he probably wouldn’t mind calling out to steal his championship.
It was asked about a petition that has attracted attention as Jones’ booking delays against interim champion Tom Astinol were dragged out for months, according to veteran UFC play-by-play man John Annick. Aspinall celebrated Jones’ retirement and crowned himself the indisputable heavyweight champion, even though it was not actually true.
Jones was still holding the belt and he consistently teased his return to action. So Annick doesn’t buy fighter jets sweating online petitions, which many consider to be the best of all time.
“So I think the fight between John Jones and Tom Aspinoll is bigger if they’re both champions,” Annick said at a press conference before the 316 UFC games. “We are looking forward to fighting in Las Vegas in December, there is no inside information.
“But if John Jones strips him of the heavyweight championship, I don’t know that John Jones will really give him a rift, he’s still going to fight Tom.
It’s difficult to discuss Annik’s logic. It’s hard to argue, especially considering the way Jones continues to laugh at the phone to strip him of the UFC heavyweight title.
On top of that, Jones still holds the belt and then faces interim champions like Aspinel, giving the UFC a simple promotional tool to build what could become the biggest fight in heavyweight history.
As for timing, Jones recently teased that he and UFC’s plans for Aspinel are being secretly pledged.
As the UFC has already begun planning events in August and September, it is unlikely that Jones and Aspinel will meet before the final months of the year, but there are still plenty of options.
As Anik said, the UFC is expected to close the year with a big event in Las Vegas, and November will usually serve as a pay-per-view card home at Madison Square Garden in New York.
We don’t know that the fight might actually be scheduled, but UFC CEO Dana White has consistently committed to plans to deliver Jones vs Aspinel in 2025.