“The Count” isn’t happy with Jones’ announcement that he won’t unify the Heavyweight belts no matter what happens at UFC 309 next weekend.
Michael Bisping is not impressed with Jon Jones’ recent comments about refusing to unify UFC’s Heavyweight titles.
Jones won the undisputed heavyweight title in March 2023, cutting through Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant belt left by Francis Ngannou. Since then, a pectoral injury (see it here) has kept him on the sidelines. In that time, Tom Aspinall — who hails from England (like Bisping) — has competed three times, winning the interim Heavyweight strap in Nov. 2023 and even defending it once in July 2024.
Jones, finally healthy once again, will fight Stipe Miocic next at UFC 309 next weekend (Sat. Nov. 16, 2024). That was the fight that was supposed to happen in 2023 when he got injured, and that’s the fight UFC has INSISTED must go down before anything else.
But, after that? Jones is saying he’s interested in fighting Alex Pereira, not Aspinall. That really grinds Bisping’s gears.
“The reality is Jon Jones is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” he said in a new YouTube video. “And when he fights Stipe Miocic, if he is victorious, then he has to face Tom Aspinall next. This is just the way the world works, okay?
“If he doesn’t, this is — in the words of Khabib Nurmagomedov — number 1 bulls—,” Bisping added. “If he refuses to fight Tom Aspinall next, then we gotta start having a serious conversation as to whether or not this man should be stripped,” Bisping continued. “Jon is the undisputed champion of the world. Tom is the interim champion. This is how it works: they face one another.
“He’s calling out Alex Pereira for a legacy fight,” he concluded. “I’m not saying this as a Jon Jones hater. But, if this was boxing, Jon Jones will be stripped. That’s a fact.”
Bisping pointed to Oleksandr Usyk unifying the Heavyweight belts after beating Tyson Fury. The titles didn’t stay unified long because Usyk decided to rematch Fury rather than fight IBF mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois. Now that was a little quick for our taste — Usyk beat Fury in May and will rematch him in December. He gave up the IBF title in June, one month after his win.
But, Jones hasn’t competed since March 2023. He was supposed to fight Miocic in Nov. 2023. Is finally fighting Miocic in Nov. 2024. And now he refuses to fight the interim champion, who has held that title for one year already. He’s saying he wants to fight the Light Heavyweight champion instead?
“Alex Pereira is incredible,” Bisping said of the match-up. “I’m a huge fan. Take my money right now. I would love to see them fight.
“But, that’s only if Jon Jones can get through Tom Aspinall — simple as that,” he concluded.
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