This horseshit at the hw championship has dragged on far too long already. It seems likely at this point what Dana's plans were for this, why the ufc would freeze out their hw division waiting for a retired 42 year old. It's befause he thought he could turn up the schmooze after Jon beats stipe to convince Jon to fight aspinall. If that happened, it would almost justify how they fucked up.the whole.division to put on a dead end hw championship fight with a guy who has already retired.
But maybe dana was planning for jon to beat stipe and rekindle tye magic and reconnevt two eras of hw lineage, and then have him fight and likely lose to aspinal, so the hw legacy would continue.
That's a hell of a risk though, given that Jon has been crystal clear for a long time that he isn't interested in fighting actual hw contenders. Jon called Dana on his bluff
So lets carry on. Strip Jones and Make a new hw champ. It's the only way to finally get back on track. Jones is not going to pass the belt on, fighting hw prospects and contenders. That couldn't ve any more clear at this point. Nice try Dana, you Moron.