The biggest fight in the entire sport that could be made at the moment is a title unification bout between Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones. ‘Bones’, of course, defended his ‘undisputed’ heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic earlier this month as Aspinall, the interim champ sat and twiddled his thumbs on the sidelines.

Before the MSG PPV event, ‘Bones’ had been against fighting but agreed to do so after the event, but with one crucial condition. He wants “f***k you money” to do so. Some suspect that this may just be a tactic by the consensus MMA GOAT to price himself out of a fighting Aspinall since he thinks he might lose to him. That indeed may be true, the question is- who next for Aspinall? UFC analyst and former champion Chael Sonnen has the answer- Ciryl Gane or Alexander Volkov.

“What would happen from that big power stand that you think is going on? What would happen if Tom Aspinall booked a fight? The heavyweight championship would be contested. Your main event spot would be filled, your pay-per-view needle is going to move. Who would Tom fight? Volkov is getting ready to fight Ciryl and Aspinall and Ciryl works,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

#2 ranked Gane is set to rematch a resurgent #3 Volkov at UFC 310 next month. Whoever wins will be the next in line for a title shot given their standing in the division. Not to mention the rest of the top-ranked guys are both coming off of losses and thus not in a position to contend for the title next.

However, ‘The Bad Guy’ feels that if Jones doesn’t decide by the time ‘Bon Gamin’ and ‘Drago’ get in the octagon, he may very well lose out on the opportunity to further cement his legacy as the best to ever do it.

Chael Sonnen warns Jon Jones ahead of Gane vs. Volkov 2

‘Uncle Chael’ thinks that Jones may lose some of his leverage to negotiate with the UFC if he waits until after Gane vs. Volkov 2. After all, the heavyweight division may have an official #1 title contender for the title after the clash, which would lessen Jones’ value.

At the moment, there is no other opponent for Aspinall to face other than ‘Bones’. But that will change after UFC 310, and a new name will be added to the conversation. Since Aspinall himself has said that he doesn’t want to be in a Michael Chandler situation and wants to remain active, Sonnen’s theory does seem to have a lot of merit.

That’s where the rubber in this alleged negotiation is going to meet the road and the world is going to be a very different place if the heavyweight title next contested happens to be the one around Tom’s waist. Tom Aspinall is a champion… that says you will take on all comers or you will relinquish the belt. One guy [Aspinall] is going to follow that code, one guy’s not [Jones]. But we only need one guy to follow that code,” Sonnen added.

What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on Tom Aspinall’s next possible opponent? Will we ever witness that fabled generational clash between Aspinall and Jones? Tell us in the comment section below!