Ex-UFC fighter suggests that Tom Aspinall would be stripped of his interim title upon return of Jon Jones - "Can only exist when there is the absence"

EX-UFC veteran Chael Sonnen claimed that Tom Aspinall will be stripped of his interim UFC heavyweight title if Jon Jones defends the undisputed title against another fighter upon his return to competition. Aspinall became the interim UFC heavyweight champion by defeating Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 after Jones was forced to pull out of his first title defense against Stipe Miocic due to a pectoral injury.

Traditionally, interim champions are crowned when the undisputed champion cannot compete for a long time due to injury or other circumstances. Typically, the undisputed champion fights the interim champion in a title unification bout upon his return. Jones, however, is inclined to face Miocic in a legacy-defining fight upon his return.

During a recent appearance on the MightyCast podcast with Demetrious Johnson, Sonnen stated that according to the rules, the interim champion cannot exist after the return of the undisputed champion.

"People believe, Tom Aspinall is in the front row, he's the interim champion. Jon Jones and Stipe [Miocic] go fight. Jon Jones take the microphone and says, 'I'm retired.' Boom! Aspinall now elevates [to the status of the undisputed champion]. Jon Jones says I'm not going to retire and you've got interim champion vs. undisputed champion. Wrong! Wrong!"

Sonnen offered an explanation to his opinion and said:

"You've got to look into the bylaws of the government affairs. The interim champion can only exist when there is the absence of the undisputed champion. Therefore, the moment the bell rings for Jon Jones' next fight, there is no longer an interim champion."

Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below:

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Colby Covington lost the interim UFC title in a similar scenario laid out by Chael Sonnen for Tom Aspinall

Colby Covington became the interim UFC welterweight champion by defeating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225. While he was scheduled to fight undisputed champion Tyron Woodley in a title unification bout at UFC 228, 'Chaos' was forced to pull out due to a nasal surgery.

The UFC booked Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till on the same date. It was announced that Covington would be stripped of his interim title as soon as the fight occurred. Following Woodley's win over Till, Covington ceased to be the interim welterweight champion and had to wait for his turn to get a shot at the undisputed title.

It is not clear if the same rule will be applied to Tom Aspinall's interim title, especially if the title unification bout does not occur because the undisputed champion, Jon Jones has opted to fight Stipe Miocic. The UFC, however, has yet to comment on such a scenario.

The situation gets another layer of complication as Tom Aspinall is set to attempt the first defense of his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. The rules about the interim title come with a lot of burning questions. It will be interesting to see how things play out.