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Andreas Hale, ESPN
Stakes are high for the interim heavyweight title fight between champion Tom Aspinall and challenger Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.
UFC president Dana White said during Thursday news conference that the winner of that fight will face the winner of the upcoming heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic.
“Absolutely,” White affirmed when asked about the possibility of a heavyweight title unification fight.
Jones won the vacant heavyweight championship when he submitted Ciryl Gane last March. He was slated to face Miocic in the main event of UFC 295 last November. However, Jones suffered a torn pectoral tendon during training and was forced out of action. Aspinall was elevated to the card’s main event to face Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title. Aspinall won by knockout and sought to challenge Jones to unify the titles. Jones had other plans and remained adamant that he would face Miocic when cleared to compete.
Jones has repeatedly teased that he will defend the title against Miocic in November although the UFC has yet to formally announce the fight.
Aspinall and Blaydes will meet at UFC 304 in a rematch of their 2022 matchup. It remains the lone blemish on Aspinall’s UFC record when he lost by TKO after suffering a knee injury 15 seconds into the fight.