Jon Jones may be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, but right now, it’s not his antics inside the cage that have fans talking; it’s his silence. Jones’ refusal to engage in a unification fight against Tom Aspinall has left the division in limbo for 18 months. As fans grow restless waiting for ‘Bones’ to defend his undisputed title, the frustration has started spilling out of the cage and onto social media.

Jones has fought just twice since moving to heavyweight in 2023. Meanwhile, interim champ Aspinall has done everything short of climbing Mount Everest to earn a unification bout. He knocked out Sergei Pavlovich, defended his interim belt against Curtis Blaydes, yet no sign of Jones on the horizon. As such, the fans decided to take matters into their own hands with a petition, one that has forced Jones to step into the fray!

Jon Jones goes to war with fans as petition to “strip” him of undisputed title gathers momentum

According to a recent update on X by ‘Realkevink’, “Jon Jones Has BLOCKED Tony_Has_Died On Instagram Following The Strip Jon Jones Campaign”. But how did a meme account and the support of the fandom manage to push the UFC legend to respond?

The petition on Change.org currently has over 34,000 signatures at the time of writing, and the number keeps growing every hour. The issue, as explained on the website? “Jon Jones is now the longest reigning champion in UFC heavyweight history and has only fought 2 times in that period. There is a clear interim champion, Tom Aspinall, who has defended his interim championship belt. Aspinall is ready to fight Jones. Jones refuses to fight him. Therefore, we as fans must let Dana White know: It is time to strip Jones Jones of the heavyweight title. He clearly has no intentions of fighting anytime soon.”

And so, Tony_Has_Died isn’t just a cheeky username anymore, it’s become the face of a full-blown rebellion. Maybe that’s why when he asked Jones to sign the petition on social media, ‘Bones’ responded by straight up blocking him.

In fact, one fan even taunted Jones on X, asking him whether he was enjoying his final days as champion before getting stripped of the title. Jones just responded by writing, “Stripped? Lol do I come across as the type of person who cares about things like that?”

But with him blocking the account that started the petition, it seems like the fans may be getting under his skin. The question now isn’t just whether Jon Jones will fight Tom Aspinall. It’s whether the fans and perhaps even the UFC will force his hand. Adding more fuel to the fire? Former middleweight champion, Michael Bisping.

During a recent conversation with MMA Junkie, ‘The Count’ laid it out bluntly as he shared, “When you become the champion, there is an obligation to do that. So, defend or vacate. It’s that simple.” Bisping even pointed out that Jones, once the UFC’s most active rising star, has become a question mark in his own weight class. Back when he beat Ryan Bader at UFC 126 and immediately fought for the title against Mauricio Rua at UFC 128, he was hungry. Now? Not so much.

So, with the pressure mounting and the whispers growing louder, Jon Jones finally responded to Tom Aspinall. But instead of clearing the air, he poured gasoline on the fire.

‘Bones’ claps back at Tom Aspinall as the interim champion no longer cares “about fighting Jon Jones”

A title unification fight between Jones and Tom Aspinall? Fans have begged for it. A petition calling for Jones to be stripped of the belt? It’s racing toward 40,000 signatures. And yet, somehow, we still have no clarity. The Brit recently opened up on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast, admitting that chasing a fight with Jones is no longer his goal.

According to Aspinall, “I’ve been inactive for nearly a year, and I’m just being told to wait. I don’t care about fighting Jon Jones, I just want to be the undisputed champion.” To Jones, those words clearly didn’t sit well. ‘Bones’ lashed out on social media, blasting Aspinall for daring to speak up. His message? A simple yet fiery, “Shut your mouth and do as you’re told.”

Jones didn’t stop there. In a strange twist, he followed up by sounding more like a man in transition than a defending champion. He mused on his future, responding to a fan asking about his ‘retirement’ by claiming, “I don’t know if I wanna call it retired, I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show em. I’ve had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact.”

In the end, Jon Jones may act like he’s unbothered, laughing off the idea of being stripped, dismissing Aspinall’s ambitions, but his actions tell another story. Blocking meme pages, firing off cryptic replies, and dodging the one fight the fans crave? That’s not the behavior of a champion in control. So the question now is, will the UFC listen to the fans’ petition? Or will ‘Bones’ continue to keep everyone guessing about his next move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!