This is the one time that the interim belt is more legit than the undisputed belt

[BlankaPresident]

I agree that Tom is the real champ, but to be fair Renan Barão's interim belt was pretty legit too. Dude defended it like 2 or 3 times while Dom was being reconstructed like Robocop.

 

[amok attitude]

Aspinall is the most special heavyweight (skill wise) I’ve ever seen in the UFC.

So yes, he gives great legitimacy to this belt. Honestly think he’ll be p4p top 3 within a year or two.

Totally different styles but he gave me that prime cain vibe in terms of dominance.
And he is even more well rounded

 

[IvanDrago2.0]

No. I still believe that Gane can beat aspinal .

 

[achoo42]

Tony Ferguson was the real champ when Khabib didnt know how to cut weight

I agree that Tom is the real champ, but to be fair Renan Barão's interim belt was pretty legit too. Dude defended it like 2 or 3 times while Dom was being reconstructed like Robocop.

Waiting for someone to vacate due to injury is different that vacating when you know the current champ is about to retire. No one knows the timeline of an injury, while in this case we know exactly the moment that the Jones/Stipe fight ends, Aspinall becomes the new champ.

 

[SenorFranko]

Aspinall vs Jones would be proper good. UFC gotta do this fight next

 

[pv3Hpv3p]

I like the logic.

Only other move is to have Jones v Tom to unify.

Stipe can fight the winner or Bigfoot Silva

 

[Jibsta69]

No. I still believe that Gane can beat aspinal .

If TKO is gonna follow their business model they will keep Gane the hell away from the title picture. Dude has been total dry letdown his last two PPV events.

 

[El Fernas]

The only thing is, Ngannou left and there is nothing fighters can do about a champ leaving, sure there was contract dispute, but still.

 

[Johnnny]

Aspinall is the most special heavyweight (skill wise) I’ve ever seen in the UFC.

 

[achoo42]

Honestly I think Aspinall is showing even more potential. He's as fast as Cain but more powerful, all while being 6'5" and having to cut to make 265.

The only thing we have to see is if he has anywhere near the cardio that Cain does. Although the way things are going I don't see anyone in the division surviving more than two rounds with him.

 

[Kertol]

Whittaker vs Romero was more legit than GSP vs Bisping

Not at all. Not even comparable. Bisping beat Rockhold who beat the Chris who beat long GOAT MW champ Silva.

Jones got an arbitrary tittle shot after the real champ vacated.

 

[mangokush]

If Jones refuses to fight Tom then he should vacate the belt and let Tom be the undisputed champ while he & Stipe have their retirement fight and both leave the division after to avoid holding it up with their diva antics

 

[blaseblase]

I mean Tom Aspinall is legit but I think Jones beats him.

He isn't going to fight him though. Aspinall is the undisputed champion as soon as Jones retires so we should just start thinking about him as that now.

 

[CashMoney1991]

It’s true within the next 6 months Tom will get promoted to real champ

 

[surgeyou1]

Not at all. Not even comparable. Bisping beat Rockhold who beat the Chris who beat long GOAT MW champ Silva.

Jones got an arbitrary tittle shot after the real champ vacated.

Bisping also got his shit pushed in by the corpse of Dan Henderson

Everyone knew Whittaker and Romero were the two best MWs at the time.

 

[Psychojoe86]

Everyone knows that the interim belt isn't a real belt, right?

Well, this time it is. If Jones and Stipe do fight, they're both retiring. And even if the winner doesn't retire right away, they certainly aren't gonna defend against Aspinall. So Aspinall becomes the real champion no matter what happens.

Tom's reign starts now.

I do not consider Jones/stipe legit since Jones didn’t beat ngannou to win the belt

 

[barillas]

UFC probably gonna stripe Jones of the belt

 

[613]

Jones is a paper HW champ. Its kind of obvious.

They are all paper champs after Francis left

 

[Johnnny]

He's as fast as Cain but more powerful, all while being 6'5" and having to cut to make 265.

Don't lie.

Aspinall weighed in at 251 lbs for the Blaydes fight and 252 lbs for Volkov. Even without a camp for this fight, he weighed in at 261 lbs.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Tom fought and beat the toughest guy at HW. He's the real champ.

Jones coming back to fight old Stipe because he wants him on his resume/legacy is sad. The entire point of the interim title is you are the champ until the injured champ comes back and you fight to unify them. Jones thinks that Stipe will solidify his HW legacy but in reality, beating Aspinall would be the fight that does that. If he beat Tom and retired after that, it would mean so much more than Stipe.