Dana White had promised the fighting community that the winner of the fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic would get to fight Tom Aspinall next. With Jones’ successful heavyweight title defense at UFC 309, it was natural for the fight fans to expect the champion’s second HW title defense to be against the Brit. Even though he wasn’t a fan of fighting ‘Honey Badger’, ‘Bones’ himself hinted at the fight during the post-fight interview at UFC 309. However, some big guns in the MMA realm believe Jones should clash with Alex Pereira instead.

Inside Fighting’s Mike Owens had a brief talk with Ciryl Gane’s coach, Fernand Lopez, on the 28th of November. The heavyweight star’s coach dropped some truth bombs regarding Jones’ next matchup.

He quoted, Why do you want Jon Jones to look up and try to fight Tom Aspinall, when Tom Aspinall is one – dangerous, two – not valuable factor for legacy? In the other hands, you have Pereira. Done everything. Glory champion, double champion in the UFC. Why don’t you go there and fight him? And even on the money standpoint, better seller on pay-per-view.”

Well, that’s exactly what the heavyweight champ wished for. ‘Bones’ previously pointed out that he was ready to vacate his belt in order to fight Pereira. It was a matchup that the fans would love to watch. Lopez emphasized that and continued, “If you were Jon Jones, why would you make that choice? Make no sense.”

While Lopez didn’t grant his seal of approval for the matchup between Jon Jones and ‘Honey Badger’, Chael Sonnen, along with many others, had a different opinion. Let’s see what the former UFC contender had to say about it. 

UFC veteran claims Jon Jones has no choice but to fight Tom Aspinall

According to ‘The American Gangster’, the New Mexico resident had 2 options – fight Aspinall, or retire. On the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’, Sonnen said, “There is nobody else that’s going to be offered [to Jones]. In fact, we got a name that came off the board in terms of Alex Pereira. Dana put that to absolute rest. Jon can sit out and not fight, that’s true. But he’s not going to be in a spot where he could fight someone else. It’s basically retire [or] it’s fight Tom Aspinall.”

Josh Thomson also believed that Aspinall vs. Jones was the fight to make. He dismissed Alex Pereira’s merits, claiming that Jones could overcome the ‘Poatan’ with ease. He said, “He can take the fight to the ground, he can still get it done in the feet. I’m not gonna take away Jon’s ability on the feet.”

Taking to his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping dropped some big news regarding Jones’ next fight. He revealed that conversations have already begun regarding the fight between Aspinall and Jones. ‘The Count’ guessed that the fight would probably entertain the fighting community during International Fight Week, 2025. After all, that’s the event Jones initially wanted to defend his HW title at. 

Who do you think should the UFC heavyweight champion fight next? Drop down to the comments below and let us know who your ideal matchup for Jones is.