The Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall saga has become the most frustrating storyline in modern MMA. For over 18 months, fans have been waiting for the heavyweight title unification bout that should have been a no-brainer. Jones captured the vacant heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane in March 2023, while Aspinall claimed the interim belt after Jones got injured before their originally scheduled fight. What should have been a simple next step has turned into an endless game of will-they-won’t-they that’s driving everyone crazy. The heavyweight division sits in limbo while two champions exist in the same weight class.<\/p>
The situation reached a boiling point recently when an online petition demanding Jones be stripped of his title has drawn over 130,000 signatures, while Jones claims he told the UFC his plans “a long time ago”. Ariel Helwani, probably the most connected journalist in MMA<\/a>, is now pointing fingers at the UFC itself for this mess. His latest take might surprise fans as he is actually defending Jones and saying the promotion is the real problem here. <\/p> Helwani recently dropped a bombshell that flips the entire narrative on its head. Instead of blaming Jones for allegedly ducking Aspinall, the veteran journalist is putting the heat squarely on Dana White and company. If Jones is telling the truth about communicating his intentions, then the UFC has some serious explaining to do.<\/p> “If Jon told the UFC like 2 months ago like ‘Hey, I’m not interested.’ It’s no longer on him… He [maybe] told them 2 months ago ‘I’m out, why don’t you give Tom Aspinall a fight… The whole thing is messy. There is no sort of black and white breakdown.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>Ariel Helwani Calls Out UFC’s Communication Breakdown<\/h2>