It’s not like Jon Jones isn’t willing to fight Tom Aspinall – for the right price, we’re all sure he’ll fight anyone. That’s exactly it. In the champ’s own words, he wants ‘f**k you money’ to fight Tom Aspinall, and is happy to walk away from the sport if the UFC doesn’t quote a high-enough number. As such, the general understanding among fans and pundits is that the behind-the-scenes negotiations might be on. Fortunately, it seems like the negotiations may not take too long because former UFC middleweight champion and legend Michael Bisping claims to have an idea regarding the date and venue of the highly anticipated heavyweight clash between Jones and Aspinall.

Following his UFC 303 withdrawal, Irish superstar Conor McGregor was reported to make a comeback in early 2025. However, in the wake of his legal issues, it seems unlikely that he will be back anytime soon. However, Michael Bisping claims that the fans could instead get Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall in early 2025. The venue and the occasion for the event could be what the UFC originally had in store for McGregor in June at International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

“Apparently, now, conversations have already started [for the Jones vs Aspinall fight]. My guess would be that fight goes down [during] International Fight Week, 2025 [in] Las Vegas, Nevada,” Michael Bisping stated on his YouTube channel. Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall will do massive numbers, according to Dana White. This could, perhaps, be the reason the UFC CEO may be considering setting it up during International Fight Week because of the crowds it would draw.

International Fight Week, as the name suggests, is a week-long affair that celebrates all things fighting, with great fanfare. Obviously, it makes sense for Dana White to make the most of it with the heavyweight title unification bout. But if the negotiations don’t go through, does that mean Jon Jones can fight someone else while carrying an undisputed belt? Unfortunately for ‘Bones’, he doesn’t have a choice it seems.

Jon Jones has to either fight Tom Aspinall or retire, according to Chael Sonnen

Jon Jones’ talking about random fights with Jamahal Hill and Derrick Lewis seems illogical after what Chael Sonnen had to say about the undisputed champion. According to ‘The American Gangster’, ‘Bones’ might be in a great place in his career, but he has no leverage over the UFC. Even if he wants to do something else, he might have to do it elsewhere because Sonnen claims that Jones could either fight Tom Aspinall or have Dana White ask him to hang up his gloves, at least, in the UFC.

“There is nobody else that’s going to be offered [to Jones]. In fact, we got a name that came off the board in terms of Alex Pereira. Dana put that to absolute rest. Jon can sit out and not fight, that’s true. But he’s not going to be in a spot where he could fight someone else. It’s basically retire [or] it’s fight Tom Aspinall,” said Chael Sonnen on the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show.

Dana White recognizes the potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall has in terms of being a money maker, as he firmly believes that this fight can be the biggest they’ve ever done in the heavyweight division. This fight also has the potential to be the biggest fight in the post-COVID era of the UFC. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments down below.