Jones vs. Miocic Confirmed for UFC 309, Aspinall Named Backup Fighter

(via Yahoo Sports)

UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinall, has officially been selected as the backup fighter for the highly anticipated fight against Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. The amount of layers that come with the fight booking and selection of Aspinall as the backup fighter is immense, and goes in great contrast with other similar situations that the UFC has dealt with.

Jones vs. Miocic was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 295 in November 2023, but was cancelled once Jones suffered a pectoral tear so devastating, that it was torn off the bone and required surgery. This led the UFC to create an interim title match between Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich.

Aspinall ended up running through Pavlovich in just over a minute into the first round, set up by a perfect 1-2 that connected with the Russian’s temple. This victory set the table for a blockbuster fight between both champions, or at least it should have.

Once he claimed interim gold, Aspinall had his sights rightfully set on Jones, but the complications with his injury made it hard to secure a date with Jones. However. the injury that Jones sustained made it so the fight would have no choice but to be postponed at least to the second half of 2024.

Meanwhile, Aspinall started to campaign for his fight with Jones, believing that it was the only fight to make for the heavyweight belt. However, Jones was still gunning for a shot against Miocic, a man who many believe as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Aspinall and Jones exchanged posts over X, and it all came to a head when they both met at a meet and greet that they both attended at the Arnold’s Festival in March 2024.Aspinall knew that Jones was attending and made an effort to find the champion by going through a crowd of fans.

Once the two met up, Aspinall stated that he was just wanting to say “hello,” but it seemed as if Jones was not excited about the Interim Champion’s arrival. Upon his initial reaction, Jones did not seem bothered by Aspinall’s presence, but one could clearly see that Jones was either sizing up Aspinall, or wanted nothing to do with him in the first place.

Aspinall puts his hand on Jones’ shoulder, which he quickly paws away at. Aspinall stated in a video to his YouTube channel that he believes that Jones did not want him gauging his reach.

The Brit then asks Jones if they were “going to do this?” Jones replied “I would hope so.” Aspinall quickly replies that he would “love to” have a fight with Jones in the future. They both wish each other the best, and at the end Aspinall asks for a picture. “A faceoff?” Aspinall asks, Jones looks at him with a face of disregard, shakes his head and says “no.”

The video below shows the entire day at the event, and if one was basing the likelihood of this fight happening solely based on Jones’ reaction, one would likely bet against it. Jones seemed to dismiss Aspinall at the outset, and refusing to face off with him makes it seem as if he would likely not even entertain a fight with the Brit.

Aspinall was then booked to fight against Curtis Blaydes to defend his interim title in July 2024. It is an unusual occurrence to have an interim champion defend his title, the last of which being Renan Barao in 2013, who defended his interim title twice during the absence of then champion, Dominick Cruz.

After this, it was confirmed that Jones vs. Miocic was to happen at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden on November 16. This decision effectively undermined Aspinall’s standing as an interim champion, and showed that the UFC gave Jones preferential treatment when it comes to his matchmaking.

In August, it was rumored that Miocic was out of his fight against Jones, which led several sources to post that Aspinall was filling in for Miocic in his fight against Jones. This felt like a higher power correcting the wrongs of booking this fight, it still was not what Jones wanted.

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Jones vs. Miocic was still on for UFC 309, and selected Aspinall, who instead actually deserves to fight Jones instead of Miocic.

Only two narratives are possible in this situation, the first being that Jones would like to beat Miocic and then retire, which would effectively cement his legacy as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. The second being that the UFC matchmakers realize that Jones is one of the only old school fighters they have left and want to preserve his legacy.

This situation begs the question: would the UFC prefer that Jones maintain his legacy, rather than potentially create a new superstar in Aspinall in a period where they desperately need stars? Based on their actions, it seems all but confirmed. It seems unlikely that Aspinall will fight Jones at any point, but if it did happen, we all would know that it would be a blockbuster.