Interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall seems the closest he will ever be to facing ‘undisputed’ champ Jon Jones. ‘Bones’, of course, is set to face former champ and Dana White’s pick for the heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic in a potentially legacy-defining fight for him at heavyweight this November. Not to mention it will almost definitely be the New Mexico resident’s last fight ever.

Aspinall, of course, is now officially the backup fighter for that blockbuster bout in a year that already has had a surfeit of marquee cards. After all, the UFC 300 anniversary card, and the Noche card last week at the iconic Sphere have already made history in their own way.

As you know, backup fighters are supposed to fill in if one of the fighters in a bout is forced to pull out, so that the fight is not scrapped entirely. And that, at least in theory, means Aspinall has a better chance of fighting Jones, or Miocic for that matter. After all, Jones has made it clear that he will almost definitely not fight Aspinall otherwise.

But in practice, Jones’ arch-rival and former champ Daniel Cormier thinks Aspinall is still far far away from fighting either veteran, even if Jones or Miocic has to pull out. Why? Because of how this exact scenario played out last year, when Miocic and Jones were originally set to face each other in what was shaping up to be the year’s biggest fight.

“[Sergei] Pavlovich was the backup fighter in New York City when Jones and Stipe were scheduled to fight the first time [on UFC 295]. Jones got hurt, Stipe pulled out, Aspinall fought against Pavlovich. There is no guarantee that because he’s the backup fighter, somebody’s gonna fight him,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.

And should tragedy befall either Jones or Miocic again, ‘DC’ feels the backup fighter, i.e., Aspinall will be left out in the cold again. “I would almost guess that if someone gets hurt, Tom Aspinall stays on the card and he fights neither one of those guys… It’ll be Tom Aspinall versus Cyril Gane or somebody for the interim championship because those guys are fighting each other and nobody else,” he added.

But why do most fans think UFC 309 will be, at least on paper, the last chance Aspinall has of facing Jones, and what happens to the ‘undisputed’ title if Jones retires after the Miocic fight?

Tom Aspinall will probably become undisputed after UFC 309 should Jon Jones retire

There is almost no doubt that Jon Jones will call it quits after the Miocic fight.  “Fun fact: after this year, Jon Jones will never have to work again. He retired at age 37. Winning,” Jones wrote on Twitter last month.

And many, including Cormier think it is precisely because of Aspinall. After all, the Englishman, unlike Jones, is a natural heavyweight. Not to mention he has an extremely well-rounded game with dangerous striking and an equally dangerous ground game, which Joe Rogan has termed the ‘next evolution’ of MMA fighters.

On his YouTube channel, ‘DC’ has previously said that ‘Bones’ is ‘scared’ of fighting Aspinall, losing his undefeated record (except for a disqualification), and tainting his legacy at the very end of his otherwise illustrious, if somewhat controversial career. Do you think Jon Jones will choose to face Aspinall before calling it quits?