MMA journalist Luke Thomas is angry. Why? Well, we haven’t gotten Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall yet. This whole fiasco with the interim champion and the division being in limbo could have been avoided. We all know that Jones last fought against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and won emphatically in the third round. This fight happened a year after people anticipated it to happen at UFC 295, but didn’t because ‘Bones’ was injured. Cut to the present day, and if we don’t get this fight till the third quarter of this year, Jones would have made Aspinall wait for a full two years. Absurd right?

So what did Luke Thomas have to say about all this? Well, he seems furious. Word in the community is that Dana White and Co. planned all along that this fight would take place at this year’s November card, at Madison Square Garden—and that the reason they never got it done till now is because that was the plan all along—a title ‘experiment’ by the UFC head honcho, if we may. 

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Thomas expressed his frustration on why Dana White put together Miocic vs Jones at UFC 309.“They went through with that terrible plan and it has brought us to this hellish position,” he said. He further stated, “Like this idea, that was the plan was always to wait until next November. I am sure that was a part of a contingency plan.”

As per MMA Fighting, White had defended this ‘experiment’, stating that the title unification bout would happen since Stipe Miocic would retire after UFC 309. White also added, “Aspinall’s a young, badass dude. He’s got plenty of time. These guys are going to fight in November, and he will fight Jon Jones if he wins, I almost guarantee you that. And if Stipe wins, we’ll figure out what’s next for Aspinall.”

Thomas pointed out how the rumor is that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall will happen at Madison Square Garden and that it was a disaster waiting to happen if that speculation turns out to be true. “There’s no other place to go after that, it’s the end of the line,” he said angrily. Before Jones fought Miocic, no one was planning or speculating about Aspinall vs Jones as per Thomas.

And now UFC 317, 318, and 319 are already filled, so there is no spot for this title unification fight as of now. “We are all here because people couldn’t make the right call about canceling the Stipe fight,” Thomas concluded. Since this fight is a big lull right now, what is Aspinall planning? Let’s hear from the longest-reigning interim champion himself.

Tom Aspinall is ready to move on

Aspinall recently spoke to TMZ and provided updates on his current mindset about the heavyweight unification bout. The 32-year-old seemed to be ready to move on and said,  “Same as always, I’ll fight anybody, just send the option my way, and I will say yes. I am pretty easygoing in that regard. I am here to fight people, but I am not here to do. I mean, we have been doing a bit of media stuff recently, but that’s only cause I am not fighting. Give me a fight, I will say yes, and that’s it, the opponent is regardless.”

Since Jones is stalling the unification bout, Aspinall is open to moving on to other prospects like Cyril Gane and Alexander Volkov. Aspinall defeated Volkov in their March 2022 fight, earning a first-round submission. Moreover, recently, Volkov showed his frustration with the UFC’s lack of action regarding moving the heavyweight division forward.

‘Drago’ lost a controversial split decision to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310. If Jones vacates the belt or is stripped, an undisputed heavyweight title fight between Aspinall and the Russian he beat could make the cut. Meanwhile, Din Thomas claimed that Aspinall was convinced to defend his interim title against Gane at UFC 317.

“If I had to put my money on it, I think they convinced Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane,” Thomas said in a recent interview with Mike Bohn. So will Tom Aspinall move on from Jon Jones? Or will we see Jones vs Aspinall at MSG in November?