UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones was supposed to defend the title against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 295, but Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle and the fight was canceled altogether.
Tom Aspinall would then go onto defeat Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 295 to become the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title. Former two division UFC champion Daniel Cormier would like to see the promotion strip Jones of his title and make Aspinall the undisputed heavyweight champion.
“If Jones and Stipe are only going to fight each other, you cannot have Tom Aspinall defend the interim championship,” Cormier said on The MMA Hour (transcript via Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie). “Jones and Stipe don’t need the title to be on the line. They can just fight, and that’s enough. Call it for ‘The Greatest of All Time.’ It doesn’t matter. Create a belt.
“Tom Aspinall is the guy who’s going to lead the heavyweight division for years to come. So yes, I believe that he should be the undisputed champ. Jones is the undisputed champion – he earned it in the octagon by beating Ciryl Gane. But if he’s only going to fight Stipe, and that’s not for another seven months? You put Tom Aspinall as the champ, and I don’t think anybody would bat an eyelid.”
Jones is expected to return to action by the Summer of 2024 against Miocic, but nothing is set in stone at this time.