Tom AspinallBen Roberts Photo/Getty Images
- Tom Aspinall
- Alex Pereira
- Francis Ngannou
Jon Jones and UFC president Dana White started the war of the words about who Jon Jones will be fighting before he even stepped foot in the cage with Miocic.
The obvious choice is Tom Aspinall. The British powerhouse has emerged as the top heavyweight in Jones’ absence. Aspinall’s only loss since signing with the UFC in 2020 was a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes because of a knee injury.
Aspinall was busy bouncing back from that loss with three consecutive knockout victories over Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavolovich and Curtis Blaydes while Jones was recovering from the torn pectoral muscle that canceled his initial fight with Miocic.
His win over gave him the interim title and he defended it with a first-round knockout victory over Blaydes.
However, Jones has publicly stated that Aspinall “hasn’t proven anything” and he’s not interested in giving him the opportunity to do so.
Instead, Jones has said that he prefers a megafight with current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. Pereira could become the UFC’s first three-weight champion if he were to move up and beat Jones.
If we’re talking matchups that would need a minor miracle to create, the next best fight is Francis Ngannou. The Predator just made a successful debut against Renan Ferreira in the PFL.
However, the relationship between Ngannou and the UFC was so bad that he left and Jones still has about six fights left on the eight-fight contract he reportedly signed ahead of his bout with Ciryl Gane.
We probably aren’t getting that one, but it’s going to be a fun hypothetical until we do or they both retire.
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