Fans will witness an epic butting of heavyweight heads at Madison Square Garden in November, as Jon Jones returns for his re-booked fight against Stipe Miocic. The fight is not yet official but Dana White already has some plans after this fight, most of them involving ‘Bones’. But why just the undisputed champion? Because it seems like the UFC could be preparing for the former 2-time heavyweight champion’s farewell.

Stipe Miocic is making his move back inside the Octagon after a considerably long layoff of over three years. Long layoffs haven’t favored many fighters unless your name is Jon Jones, who destroyed Ciryl Gane in his first fight in three years, that too at heavyweight. But win or lose, Dana White believes that Miocic’s decision could remain the same, but if things change, it could spell trouble for the interim champ, Tom Aspinall.

Dana White reveals how Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic affects Tom Aspinall’s next fight

Tom Aspinall’s call for the Jon Jones fight has been reverberating in the whole MMA community. And why? After all, it’s about unifying the heavyweight titles, and Dana White seems to have realized that. In a way, he guaranteed that the Aspinall vs. Jones fight would be what the matchmakers would have in mind if Bones defeated Stipe Miocic. However, if the former 2-time heavyweight champ emerges victorious, the UFC might have to re-navigate the interim champ’s next fight.

“He [Aspinall] will fight Jon Jones if he wins. I almost guarantee you that. If Stipe wins [against Jones], then we’ll figure out what’s next for Aspinall,” Dana White said during the Contender Series presser. However, the notion he has about Stipe Miocic after the Jon Jones fight is that the 42-year-old should be announcing that he’s hanging up his gloves.

“If Stipe wins, Stipe feels great. Maybe Stipe will do that in the [Aspinall] fight. I don’t know. I’m just saying, me right here now, I think that if Stipe wins, Stipe probably retires, but you never know until the fight’s over.” But Dana White hasn’t shut down the idea of having the part-time firefighter take on Tom Aspinall. If things are in favor of Miocic, maybe fans will get that heavyweight showdown as well.

Dana White added, “[Maybe] he beats the greatest fighter of all time and maybe he wants to test himself against Aspinall and maybe the money is right, it all lines up and he wants it. Who knows?” The UFC CEO claims that anything can happen between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, but UFC legend Chael Sonnen has given a take as to why it would be foolish to give the former 2-time champ no chance against Jones.

UFC legend argues Jones might be in for a rude awakening

Stipe Miocic is one of the most accomplished heavyweight fighters that the UFC has ever seen and that alone gives us the idea that Jon Jones is not in for an easy payout. But Chael Sonnen claims that the former 2-time champion wouldn’t have taken the fight against the supposed greatest of all time if he wasn’t confident about his abilities at 42 years old. Miocic has even gotten in tremendous shape for what many people are speculating to be his last fight.

“Stipe is not going to come out after all this time and dedication to put on that size for a match he doesn’t feel he can win,” Chael Sonnen stated on his YouTube channel. Stipe Miocic is a credible threat to Jon Jones, especially because he’s only one of the two fighters who’ve beaten the big Francis Ngannou under the UFC banner.

This is a sentiment Jones has been sharing too. Every time fans on social media hound him for supposedly ducking Aspinall, Jones comes with receipts. Miocic’s resume, and the long layoff are things to be wary of, according to Jones.

On the other hand, Tom Aspinall has seemingly launched a campaign on social media, sharing various posts in the hunt for the Jon Jones fight. But could Stipe Miočić spoil all his plans? Let us know in the comments down below.