The UFC world waits with bated breath as Jon Jones goes toe-to-toe with the the promotion’s greatest heavyweight Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. Joining the world on the sidelines is interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, as the Jones-Miocic bout has implications on his fighting career as well. With rumors of both Jones and Miocic retiring after November 16th, with neither fighter confirming, Aspinall remains in limbo as an interim champion with one title defense.

Whether Jones or Miocic retire or return to defend their titles, the Englishman’s future will take different trajectory based on the outcome of the fight. What if Jones retains his title? Will he grant Aspinall the title unification bout, or will he chase another legacy fight elsewhere? What if Stipe Miocic wins? Will he retire as champion or will he give Aspinall much needed closure by granting him a shot at the undisputed title?

Tom Aspinall’s fate if the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic winner retires

The outcome of the much-awaited Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic bout will have a major impact on the future of the Dana White-led promotion’s heavyweight division. If ‘Bones’ wins and decides to retire, he will vacate the heavyweight title, making way for Tom Aspinall to unify the interim and undisputed heavyweight titles. This switch would simply simply made according to UFC regulations, which recognize the interim champion as the legitimate successor when the titleholder stands down.

This is a situation that UFC fans are familiar with as it once played out in the featherweight division. In 2016, when Jose Aldo held the interim featherweight title, he was promoted to undisputed status after Conor McGregor failed to defend his belt. In a case where Jon Jones retires after UFC 309, Aspinall would become the undisputed champion, and thus maintain the order in the heavyweight division. However, it would take away the dream of the UFC fans to watch a unification bout between the two high-level fighters.

What if Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic decide to defend their UFC HW title

Either fighter winning the heavyweight title on November 16th could spell a different outcome for Tom Aspinall. On paper, the winner of the heavyweight title fight should unify the titles with Aspinall. Stipe Miocic is on the fence about retiring and might decide to continue fighting. Since Miocic is a company man who has a history of not choosing his fights, Aspinall could very well be next in line.

With Jon Jones, however, the situation is a bit more complicated. In what looks like a case of Jones ducking Aspinall, the heavyweight champion has proposed two outcomes; either retire with the belt and drive off into the sunset, or embark on another legacy fight against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

What is most likely to happen?

Although hinting at retirement, Jon Jones stated that he may continue his career under specific circumstances. It looks like ‘Bones’ has plans of sidelining Tom Aspinall once more as he eyes a fight with ‘Poatan’. Why exactly is Jones going against fans’ wishes and refusing Aspinall a shot at his undisputed status? The two-weight champion feels a battle with ‘Poatan’ is better for his legacy than  Aspinall, who, in his opinion, still has to establish his position in the division. In an interview with Kevin Iole, ‘Bones’ said, “I feel like Tom Aspinall… just hasn’t proven anything. If there were to be a fight, that would be not only financially worth it but legacy worth it, it would be Alex Pereira.” Despite Dana White’s statements of the Englishman being next in line for the title, Jon Jones doesn’t seem interested and would rather chase a money/legacy fight with ‘Poatan.’

On the other hand, fans are expecting Stipe Miocic to retire after UFC 309. At 42, Miocic has cemented his legacy as the UFC’s greatest heavyweight through his two title runs and three consecutive title defenses. Miocic hasn’t outright said that he’d retire, but revealed that he does think about it quite often. ‘Stone Cold’ said the following in an interview with MMA Fighting – “I think every fight, I’m always preparing for my last one. I always thought about retiring after my first UFC fight. I say that all the time. Who wants to get beat up for 10 weeks, 12 weeks, come back and do it again? I love what I do, and it’s fun. So we’ll see, but right now my task at hand is Jon”.

So it isn’t confirmed that Miocic will retire, and this sets up a possible showdown with Tom Aspinall should the Croatian-American do the unthinkable by beating Jones at MSG on November 16th.

Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic may probably retire but Dana White doesn’t think so

While it seems like it might the final fight for either fighter, the UFC head honcho believes otherwise. Dana White has been making efforts at having a massive fight booked in the promotion featuring the interim champion. As a result, the UFC CEO believes that either of the two heavyweights will most likely give Aspinall the chance to prove his worth and prowess as a fighter.

In an interview with TNT Sports, White said, “I truly believe that whoever wins this fight, just competitively, the way that these guys are wired and the reason that they’re both massive legends in the sport, they’re not going to just ride off into the sunset without settling the dispute with Tom Aspinall.” According to Dana White, both Jones Jones and Stipe Miocic were given opportunities to face veterans like Shogun Rua and Fabricio Werdum, that made them the legends that they are today. Hence, it’s only fitting that both fighters give the opportunity to a young Tom Aspinall who looks like he could be a dominant champion in the division for a long time.

Keeping this mind, White continued, “When you think about Jon Jones becoming the youngest champion in [light] heavyweight history and all the things that Stipe accomplished—they were given opportunities, you know when they were young, and I think that they will reciprocate.” It looks like White knows his fighters and has assured a fight that fans would love.

What is the most likely outcome in the clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 309? Will that outcome bear fruit for Tom Aspinall? Let is know in the comments below.