Tom Aspinall might not need to beat Jon Jones to be crowned heavyweight champion, says former UFC referee 

Former UFC referee 'Big' John McCarthy believes Tom Aspinall could be the undisputed heavyweight champion in 2025 without fighting Jon Jones.

In November 2023, Aspinall capitalized on an opportunity to become the interim UFC heavyweight champion. Since then, the hard-hitting Englishman has defended his interim strap once, which typically isn't done, to remain active while Jon Jones retained his throne against Stipe Miocic.

One of the biggest fights in MMA heading into 2025 is a unification heavyweight title bout between Aspinall and Jones. Dana White plans to book the matchup, but Jones has publicly threatened to retire because he doesn't want to face Aspinall.

Earlier this week, 'Big' John McCarthy revealed his predictions for 2025 during an episode of WEIGHING IN. The legendary referee had this to say about Aspinall becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion over the next twelve months:

"It works either way. My way, [Aspinall] beats [Jones], he's the undisputed champion. If he doesn't, Jon is going to end up stepping away as an undefeated basic fighter in the UFC, heavyweight champion, put the belt down. They're going to put Tom Aspinall against somebody else in the heavyweight division and I pick Tom Aspinall to win that fight."

Watch John McCarthy's prediction about Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones starting at 10:10 below:

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Jon Jones plans to retire from fighting and "launch acting career" over next five years

Before fighting Stipe Miocic, Jon Jones teased the possibility of retiring from fighting, regardless of the result. The UFC heavyweight champion has since announced he will return in 2025, with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira as his most desired opponent.

Jones recently made video content with 'Alex G Was Here' and had this to say about his five-year plan:

"Within the next five years, I wanna win one more fight, maybe even two more fights and try and make as much money as possible in the UFC. And I want to launch off my acting career. I've always wanted to be an actor. I think I do pretty good on camera and I've done little commercials and things like that."

In late 2023, Jon Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle, forcing him to pull out of his title defense against Stipe Miocic.

The UFC heavyweight champion endured a year-long layoff before returning in November 2024 when he secured a third-round knockout win against Miocic to further his legacy.

Watch Jones' comments starting at 29:45 below: