Petition to Strip Jon Jones Of UFC Heavyweight Title Gains 130,000 Signatures

Jon Jones is largely considered to be the greatest fighter in UFC history, but his time as the heavyweight champion has been largely filled with criticism.

As fans grow restless to see Jones fight Tom Aspinall, a petition has arisen to strip Jones of his heavyweight title. The petition has grown to over 130,000 signatures.

Jones earned the heavyweight title by defeating Ciryl Gane and defended his title against Stipe Miocic despite Miocic not fighting for multiple years.

Aspinall has been the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion for 18 months, yet has not been given the opportunity to fight Jones.

“There is a clear interim champion, Tom Aspinall, who has defended his interim championship belt. Aspinall is ready to fight Jones. Jones refuses to fight him,” the Change.org petition reads. “Therefore, we as fans must let [UFC founder] Dana White know: It is time to strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title. He clearly has no intentions of fighting anytime soon.”

The interim title exists so the interim champion and the actual champion can fight each other, unifying the titles.

Aspinall became only the fourth fighter in UFC history to defend an interim title when he defeated Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.

While Aspinall has been waiting for the fight, Jones has hinted that he potentially won’t step into the octagon again. Despite fans’ wishes, there is a possibility that the fight may never occur.