Tom Aspinall defends his interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 304, but there’s no telling when he may have a chance to unify the belts and become undisputed champion.
With Jon Jones expected to return in November to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic, Aspinall remains the odd man out assuming he gets past Curtis Blaydes on Saturday night. It’s been a point of frustration for Aspinall, who has repeatedly called for the chance to face Jones only to have his requests rebuffed.
Because Jones may be nearing the end of his career, Aspinall may never get the chance to land that fight, but UFC analyst Laura Sanko doesn’t know if that really matters when it comes to the Englishman’s claim as the best heavyweight in the sport.
“I’ve never wavered from saying that Jon Jones is the greatest of all time,” Sanko told MMA Fighting. “That’s something that you’re not going to hear change coming out of my mouth any time soon. But currently, the best heavyweight in the world, I believe, is Tom Aspinall.”
Aspinall’s run to the top of the division has seen him torch nearly every opponent he’s faced without any making it past the second round. The only blemish on his record came against Blaydes two years ago, when Aspinall suffered a severe knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight.
Meanwhile, Jones’ only fight at heavyweight came when he dispatched Ciryl Gane in dominant fashion in March 2023 to claim the title left vacant by Francis Ngannou’s UFC exit. Since that win, Jones has stated emphatically that he is only interested in Miocic next, largely due to the Ohio native being widely considered the best heavyweight in UFC history.
Sanko sees no problem with Jones preferring to chase the Miocic fight over Aspinall, but that doesn’t mean the matchup will actually determine the top heavyweight in the sport.
“I think when we see Jon and Stipe fight, it’s going to be a tremendous fight,” Sanko said. “I think we’re going to have our eyes glued to that fight. But are we going to get the answer to whether he is the current best heavyweight by fighting Stipe Miocic? Or vice versa, is Stipe the best current heavyweight by fighting Jon Jones?
“I don’t know that answer is going to be fully revealed in that fight. For me, it would take Jon Jones fighting a Tom Aspinall to cement that.”
As much as Jones vs. Aspinall may settle the question about who is UFC’s best heavyweight, Sanko makes it clear that’s not a matchup the former light heavyweight champ needs on his résumé. Sanko argues that Jones has already cemented his place in history, which is why she already considers him the greatest of all time.
“Does [Jones] need that though for his overall MMA legacy? Absolutely not,” Sanko said. “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t owe this sport anything else. He has paid his dues. He has already cemented his legacy. So it’s up to Jon at that point to figure out where he is, where his body is.”
There are also longstanding rumors that Jones could call it a career after fighting Miocic.
If he does decide to stick around past November, Sanko believes Jones may not be all that interested in unifying titles with Aspinall, but could go after a different champion instead.
“To be honest with you, and I don’t know how this would play out in terms of interim and undisputed, I could see Jon being much more interested in an Alex Pereira fight than he would be in a Tom Aspinall fight,” Sanko said. “How on Earth that would happen with potentially Tom Aspinall sitting again on an interim belt that’s feeling more and more like an undisputed belt? No idea.
“But just in terms of interest from Jon Jones, I think he would find the Alex Pereira fight really interesting because I think he would feel like he had a big advantage in that one.”
Sanko acknowledges that even suggesting Jones vs. Pereira could stir up all sorts of issues across multiple UFC divisions, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. If he doesn’t retire after the Miocic fight, Jones probably doesn’t have much time left in MMA, and a showdown against Pereira may be the exact kind of matchup to keep him around a little while longer.
“Can you imagine what an absolute crap show that would be?” Sanko said. “I mean, I want to see these things, but there’s also a part of me that likes to be organized, that likes to be logical, that likes things to happen the way it should happen. That part of my brain is like, what on Earth? How is this even going to happen? But do I want to see Alex Pereira fight Jon Jones? I might be really interested in that, honestly.
“I also want to see Tom Aspinall fight Jon Jones; I’m only saying that I don’t know Jon’s interest level in that one as much. I’m guessing here, but it’s certainly making for a fascinating scene after we get past this weekend. The conversations to be had are plenty.”
