According to Chael Sonnen, the highly anticipated UFC heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall is reportedly agreed upon, even down to a specific date the promotion is considering.
Speaking on the Good Guy / Bad Guy show with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen stated, “I am confident enough to tell you that fight is done… That fight is agreed, all the way down to the date. That I do have the confidence to tell you.” He speculated on possible locations, mentioning International Fight Week as making sense, but personally felt they might return to New York.
Jones won the heavyweight championship by submitting Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. He has since been sidelined by injuries, which prevented a scheduled fight.
While Jones was injured, Tom Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round at UFC 295 in November 2023. Aspinall recently defended his interim title with another quick finish against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July.
Ever since Aspinall claimed the interim belt, many fans and analysts have desired a unification bout between Jones and Aspinall, expressing disappointment when the planned fight for Jones remained against Stipe Miocic. This situation has fueled claims that Jones is intentionally avoiding Aspinall or prioritizing different opponents. However, Sonnen suggests Jones` public stance is merely a tactic.
“Jones will say many things to the media,” Sonnen explained, but asserted that when Jones receives a call from the UFC confirming his opponent, his response is simply “Yes.”
He dismissed other reports as untrue, characterizing Jones` public comments as trolling and attempting to “negotiate the media.” Sonnen reiterated, “Privately, he takes that phone call, it’s ‘Yes’… Jon Jones has not ducked this fight… He did not duck Tom Aspinall.”
