For over a year, MMA fans have been obsessed with one question: will UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones ever face off against interim titleholder Tom Aspinall? It’s been a rollercoaster of speculation, but if UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen is right, we’re finally getting an answer—and it’s a yes.
Sonnen dropped some serious insider knowledge on Submission Radio recently, claiming the fight is all but locked in. “Alex Pereira was one of the most interesting men we have in our sport because he was going to be used as a pawn on the chessboard to get Aspinall vs. Jones together,” he said. “If Jon Jones kept holding out, that opportunity was merely going to slot to Alex Pereira. Pereira vs. Aspinall is one hell of a consolation prize if you can’t get Jones vs. Aspinall. … They got a deal done with Jon Jones and Aspinall, at least verbally, the night before — this is inside information, you will not have heard this story anywhere else — they got a deal done verbally the night before Pereira vs. Ankalaev.”
This lines up with recent buzz from the UFC brass. Dana White told TNT Sports that the matchup is “just a matter of when now, getting it signed and done,” while Aspinall himself has said he’s “very optimistic” about it happening. Still, nothing’s official yet. Rumors suggest Jones is pushing for six months to prep, but Sonnen thinks the champ might have talked himself into a corner he didn’t mean to enter.
“I will tell you one thing: Jon Jones wants six months, I don’t believe Jon meant it when he said it,” Sonnen explained. “I don’t think Jon ever knew this was going to be a statement he could make that would then stick around for three weeks and everybody would be bouncing this back and forth. I don’t think he really meant it. I know when Jon sat down at the table and the very first time he ever spoke about Tom Aspinall he said, ‘I need $30 million,’ he didn’t mean that. They were just words and then they ended up sticking. … He didn’t actually mean it. He didn’t mean that he needs six months, but now they put him in the position where he almost has to demand that he gets six months because it’s been so big. … One thing about it though, go get your money. The money doesn’t change. Get it as quick as you can and get done. The only thing that putting six months between Jon and Tom will do — and I don’t know who wins between those boys. There’s a reason they walk out there and do the actual fight. Nothing will change though. If they fight tonight, if they fight in Madison Square Garden in November, if they fight in the street in a month, if they fight in six days, six weeks, six months, or six years, whoever is better will win. 100 percent of the time.”
Earlier this year, White hinted at a summer showdown, which clashes with Jones’s supposed six-month timeline. But Sonnen’s got a different prediction—one that could see Jones back in New York for the UFC’s annual MSG pilgrimage in November. “Yes, I do,” he said when asked if the fight’s happening in 2024. “I’m going to predict November, New York. That’s not an inside scoop, by the way. I just know in November they’re playing New York, in December they’re playing Vegas. That’s a massive fight. Maybe you take it to the fight capital of the world. Maybe. Or maybe you take it to the venue that’s produced your largest live gate in history. I guess we’ll see how that whole thing plays out.”
So, is this the year we finally see Jones vs. Aspinall? If Sonnen’s intel holds water, it’s looking like a lock.
