{"id":5638,"date":"2025-04-30T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=5638"},"modified":"2025-04-30T12:00:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T12:00:19","slug":"jon-jones-reportedly-delaying-ufc-title-fight-tom-aspinall-may-face-ciryl-gane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=5638","title":{"rendered":"Jon Jones reportedly delaying UFC title fight, Tom Aspinall may face Ciryl Gane"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>UFC fans hoping for a blockbuster heavyweight unification clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall may have to wait even longer.<\/p>\n<p>Despite growing anticipation and previous assurances from UFC president Dana White, new insider claims suggest Aspinall is now being \u201cconvinced\u201d to defend his interim title against Ciryl Gane instead.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, Aspinall had teased progress in the long-awaited showdown with Jones, even revealing that he\u2019d been \u201csworn to secrecy\u201d regarding ongoing talks.<\/p>\n<p>Dana White had also offered a positive update, insisting the fight \u201cwill happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, a new twist has emerged.<\/p>\n<p>According to UFC analyst Din Thomas, the promotion may be pivoting. Speaking with Mike Bohn, Thomas said: \u201cIf I had to put my money on it, I think they convinced Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the UFC is likely to make Gane an offer too good to refuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTom wants to fight. He\u2019ll be like, \u2018Alright, I\u2019ll fight\u2019. I think they\u2019ll throw a number at Ciryl Gane that he can\u2019t refuse. It won\u2019t be ideal for him, but I think it makes more sense that way,\u201d Thomas explained.<\/p>\n<p>This aligns with recent speculation from Chael Sonnen, who also hinted that Aspinall vs Gane is in the works\u2014potentially at UFC 317.<\/p>\n<p>As for Jon Jones, Thomas believes the reigning champion is deliberately stalling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJon is a chess player. He\u2019s collecting as much information on Tom Aspinall as possible,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen Tom in a lot of tough spots, and I think Jon wants to wait and see how he handles more challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The delay has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this week, Jones became the second-longest reigning UFC heavyweight champion, surpassing Stipe Miocic and now trailing only Cain Velasquez.<\/p>\n<p>If he extends the delay another six months, Jones could set a new record\u2014despite having only one title defense.<\/p>\n<p>While Jones&#8217; calculated approach might make sense from a strategic perspective, the fanbase is growing restless.<\/p>\n<p>Many view his refusal to engage with Aspinall as damaging to his legacy, especially as Aspinall continues to rise as one of the division\u2019s most promising and dynamic talents.<\/p>\n<p>Aspinall, who recently set the record for longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history, appears ready to take on any challenge\u2014but if the latest reports hold, it won&#8217;t be Jon Jones just yet.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UFC fans hoping for a blockbuster heavyweight unification clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall may have to wait even longer. Despite growing anticipation and previous assurances from UFC president Dana White, new insider claims suggest Aspinall is now being \u201cconvinced\u201d to defend his interim title against Ciryl Gane instead. In recent months, Aspinall had [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}