UFC 304 heavyweight winner to face Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic victor
The winner of Saturday’s interim heavyweight title clash between reigning champion Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes will move on to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.
That comes according to Dana White who offered a one-word response when asked what comes next for the victor in UFC 304’s co-main event.
“Absolutely,” White said at the UFC 304 press conference when asked point-blank if the winner of Aspinall vs. Blaydes would fight either ‘Bones’ or Miocic next.
As great as that sounds, it’s not quite that simple. Ever since he won the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 285, Jon Jones has routinely teased retirement once his bout with Miocic is in the books. And even if Miocic pulls off the upset, it’s hard to imagine the consensus heavyweight GOAT — who will be 42 by the time he actually fights Jones — would stick around to fight either Aspinall or Blaydes.
That’s probably why Blaydes has been running around touting his title tilt with Aspinall as being for the “real” heavyweight crown.
Tom Aspinall thinks His UFC 304 fight with ‘Razor’ will be a tougher test than what Jon Jones brings to the table
After dispatching Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds to claim the interim belt last November, Tom Aspinall lobbied hard for a unification fight with Jon Jones.
Failing to bait the two-division titleholder into a scrap, the Salford, England native opted to move on to Blaydes, a man he believes presents a much tougher test than a past-his-prime ‘Bones.’
“Because Curtis Blaydes is a well-established heavyweight and I’m not discrediting Jon at all, the guy’s unreal—well I might be discrediting him a bit—but as a heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes has proven multiple times that he’s elite,” Aspinall told Sky Sports.
“And he’s in his prime, Jon Jones isn’t. I think Blaydes is a tougher fight” (h/t Bloody Elbow).
