The fans have spoken.
An online petition to strip Jon Jones of the UFC heavyweight championship has surpassed 100,000 signatures (106k at the time of writing) amid ongoing uncertainty at the top of the division and Jones’ apparent reluctance to accept a bout with the interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
The petition can be viewed at this link.
Jones, who turns 38 in July, has fought just twice in the past five years, defeating Ciryl Gane for the title that had been vacated by Francis Ngannou, before defending his crown last November against former champion Stipe Miocic.
Aspinall, by comparison, has conducted his entire UFC career during those five years, winning eight fights and losing just once — an injury TKO loss against Curtis Blaydes that he would later avenge in defence of the interim heavyweight championship he won in November 2023 in a fight with Russian Sergei Pavlovich.
The Briton has vocally called for a bout with Jones to determine the true champion of the UFC heavyweight fold, though Jones has so far appeared dismissive of such calls — saying in recent months that he was prioritising so-called ‘legacy fights’ with fighters of the profile of former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
More recently, Jones intimated on social media that he has communicated his status to the UFC and is unsure as to why the organisation has yet to inform the fans.
It remains to be seen if the UFC will take note or release any type of comment about the online petition.
