The MMA world is buzzing with anticipation for the long awaited heavyweight title unification fight between champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. At the UFC 316 pre-fight press conference on June 5, 2025, in New Jersey, UFC commentator Jon Anik who stood in for UFC President Dana White, dropped a little bit of a hint on the blockbuster fight’s date and location. The announcement has reignited excitement for what White has called “the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history,” as fans are awaiting the clash between the UFC’s best of the best.
Anik’s comments come amid months of speculation, with Jon initially resisting the fight after his November 2024 knockout of Stipe Moicic at UFC 309, citing his desire to taken on an established fighter like Alex Pereira. However, since Pereira lost against Magomed Ankalaev, Jones’ plans weren’t going to be within reach anytime soon. According to Jones and the UFC, the two have already come to terms but have declared anything publicly. Now that Jon Anik has dropped us some hints, we now at least have a general timeline of the fight.
During the UFC 316 pre-fight press conference, Anik addressed a fan petition, with over 200K signatures, to strip Jon Jones of his title, expressing optimism about the fight’s timeline. “I’m hopeful they’re gonna fight in December in Las Vegas,” Anik said, clarifying he has no inside information but believed the fight’s magnitude warranted a grand stage. He emphasized that even if Jones was eventually stripped, he is not to type that’ll get too upset about the UFC taking away his belt.
Even as UFC 316 – Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley, approaches closer, Jones vs. Aspinall is still all that the fans want to talk about and know about. The two of the heavyweight’s best, are going back and forth against each other on social media. With Jones thanking Aspinall for all the British fans and free promotion, attending Jones’ seminar at Phuket, Thailand. Meanwhile, Aspinall has started to completely ignore Jones, consistently calling the heavyweight champ “Retired,” and saying that the UFC needs to set new fights because he believes that Jones is not coming back anytime soon.
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