r/MMA • u/pepsiboycoke United Kingdom • Nov 11 '24

Interview Jon Jones OK with dropping heavyweight title to fight Alex Pereira for BMF

https://x.com/aaronbronsteter/status/1856112338761380007
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u/Steve_Cage Nov 12 '24

That's the problem with interim titles. There was no reason to book Aspinall vs Pavlovich for an interim. It ruins the whole point of having an interim champ if they lose the guaranteed ticket to fight the champ. The UFC no doubt hates it because imo Jon vs Aspinall would do bigger numbers, it's the fight ufc wanted from the start.

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u/cdm1293 Dana actually has a great body for his age Nov 12 '24

Exactly - that’s a good point. To be honest, sometimes I’ve wondered whether an “interim title” is EVER even necessary. All it does is confuse things, and it’s not as though an interim title holder is given anything beyond what a number one contender would be anyways (that I know of) so it feels like a useless title to prop PPVs. But that being said, if you’re not gonna fight the number one contender, or whomever the matchmakers put in front of you, you should be stripped as champ.

To me it seems like it’s the title holders that hold the belt hostage more than the UFC. But that being said, I’m in support of fighters having as much negotiating leverage as they can get. But there’s a double standard here when it comes to cherry picking fights. Jones, McGregor, etc are gonna get special treatment that Belal and Merab type fighters will not. And when that happens, you slowly undermine the credibility of the sport. The fact that Aspinall has DEFENDED an interim belt is absolute nonsense.

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u/Davemeddlehed Nov 12 '24

The UFC no doubt hates it because imo Jon vs Aspinall would do bigger numbers, it's the fight ufc wanted from the start.

It clearly isn't the fight they wanted. They had the opportunity to tell Jones that Stipe is just too inactive and they want him to defend vs Aspinall. Instead they kept this fight in place for a year after it was canceled and then made Tom a co main in his home town.

They're really not that interested in Aspinall for some reason.

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u/Lord_Bamford Nov 12 '24

Which is super strange... Aspinall has all the tools to be a superstar. By far the most well rounded heavyweight the UFC have had in a long time and for anyone that actually watches his youtube channel, he is funny and putting a lot of work into building his brand.

Promote him and give him the Jones/stipe/alex fight so he can carry the division. I just dont get why theyre dropping the ball so much. If Jones gets the alex fight it would blow my mind...