"Tom Aspinall, sitting in the front row with his shiny belt, is stripped" - When Chael Sonnen said Jon Jones' return should've nullified interim title

Chael Sonnen once suggested that Tom Aspinall should be stripped of his interim UFC heavyweight championship upon Jon Jones' return to the octagon. Sonnen particularly implied that many in the MMA community were unaware of how interim championships work.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jones captured the vacant heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane in March 2023. 'Bones' was quickly linked to a long-awaited dream matchup against heavyweight MMA great and former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

However, that was delayed when Jones was sidelined by a pectoral injury. In Jones' absence, England's Tom Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim UFC heavyweight title in November 2023.

Following that, both Jones and Aspinall have competed once each. Aspinall defended his interim title by knocking out Curtis Blaydes in their rematch, while Jones defended his belt by finishing Stipe Miocic. Many fight fans have consistently campaigned for Jones and Aspinall to clash in a title unification matchup.

In an episode of former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson's Mighty Cast podcast, MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen addressed the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall feud and the title situation.

During their conversation, which premiered on YouTube in May 2024, Sonnen warned that Aspinall's interim title would be null and void as soon as Jones' next fight starts:

"People believe ... Just paint a scenario. Tom Aspinall's in the front row. He's the interim champion. Jon Jones and Stipe [Miocic] go fight; Jon Jones takes a microphone, says, 'I'm retired.' Boom. Aspinall now elevates. Jon Jones says, 'I'm not going to retire.' And you've got interim champion versus undisputed champion. Wrong. Wrong.

"And you've got to look into the bylaws of government affairs. The interim champion can only exist when there is the absence of an undisputed champion. And therefore, the moment the bell rings for Jon Jones' next fight, there is no longer an interim champion. The moment the bell rings, the undisputed champion has returned, which means Tom Aspinall, sitting in the front row with his shiny belt, is stripped instantly."

Sonnen also seemed to suggest that the ex-Executive Director of the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) and the UFC's longtime Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, would agree with him.

Watch Sonnen's assessment below:

Watch the podcast episode below (1:06:47):

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Tom Aspinall called for Jon Jones to be stripped of his UFC heavyweight title in 2023

As reported by MMA Junkie in November 2023, Tom Aspinall notably addressed Jon Jones' pectoral injury.

On UFC legend Michael Bisping's YouTube channel, Aspinall alluded to the belief that Jones' pectoral injury would sideline him for several months. Because of that, the Brit called for 'Bones' to be stripped of the heavyweight championship:

"I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title, to be honest."

Furthermore, in 2025, Tom Aspinall recently hinted that a major announcement is imminent. It's led many fans to believe that his much-awaited title unifier against Jones could be on the horizon.