Michael Bisping chides Jon Jones for holding up UFC, Tom Aspinall: 'Defend or vacate'
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping says it's time for heavyweight champion Jon Jones to defend or move on.
Frustrations with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and his potential title unification bout against interim champion Tom Aspinall have been boiling over recently. The calls for Jones to either put his belt on the line against Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) have grown louder after the UFC officially announced the future slate of pay-per-view main events into the summer, which did not include the heavyweight title fight.
While Aspinall has repeatedly voiced his frustration with the situation, Jones, who defended the heavyweight title for the first time against Stipe Miocic last July at UFC 304, has been publicly dismissive. "Bones" has even hinted that retirement is a strong possibility, while posting videos on social media of having fun in various locations.
"That's great for him. That's all well and good, but if you're the heavyweight champion of the world, then you have an obligation to the sport, the fans, to the other fighters in the divsion," Bisping told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn on "The Bohnfire." "Live your life, and if you are somewhat retired, just be honest and come out and say it.
"Obviously, Dana (White) has been very adamant that the fight is going ahead. So I think maybe it's just Jon messing with Tom psychologically because he's a master of his craft, and he knows what he's doing. If he's not, and he has no intention of fighting, and he's just stringing it out for a while because he wants to hang on to the belt, then that's appalling to be quite frank."
Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 294 in November 2023. With a title unification out of the picture, Aspinall was put in a position to defend the interim title, which he did successfully by stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. Nearly a year later, Aspinall has no clue what's next.
"I feel for Tom here because Tom is in the prime of his life," Bisping said. "He's an absolutely incredible fighter. He's just dispatching of everybody with ease. He's the best finisher in all the sport right now, and he's in the prime. He should be fighting every few months. Every six months at least. Every four or five months, he should be back in there building his legacy and making money and just doing what he was put on this earth to do – what he's trained an entire life for. Yet, he's just sitting around on the sidelines waiting and waiting and waiting.
"So, I'm sure it's extremely frustrating for Tom, the fans – because I've said this for a long time: I think Tom smokes him. I do. And I think Jon is probably very conscious of that threat as well. I'm not saying he doesn't think he can win, but he understands that this will be a tough fight, but they're all tough fights. They're all supposed to be tough fights."
If Jones does decide to continue fighting, Bisping believes Jones should reflect upon his days as an up-and-coming light heavyweight contender. Immediately after beating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, it was announced he would fight for Mauricio Rua's title at UFC 128 just over a month later. Jones won the title to become the youngest UFC champion ever. He then recorded his first title defense six months later. Things moved very quickly for Jones in his early days as a champion, and Bisping would like to see that be repaid to Aspinall.
"For Jon to not want to give this guy an opportunity where other people gave him an opportunity – he was the youngest champion in this sport, and he's always talking about there's always going to be younger guys coming along – well, what about when you were fighting for the belt and you were the youngest person to ever do it?" Bisping said. "You got that opportunity. When you become the champion, there is an obligation to do that. So, defend or vacate. It's that simple.
"All these cryptic tweets and going out to Thailand and living his best life and sh*t, great. If that's what you want to do, go off and enjoy your life, but do the decent thing."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Micahel Bisping wants Jon Jones to meet obligations as UFC champion
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Bogdan Grad and Muhammad Naimov meet Saturday in the main card opener of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. Last event: 5-1 UFC main cards, 2025: 57-44-1 Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov UFC Baku preview Grad (15-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters on a four-fight winning streak with three stoppages. After back-to-back finishes on the regional scene, he picked up a win on Dana White's Contender Series, and then finished Lucas Alexander in his February debut. ... Naimov (12-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) looks to keep the momentum going after a unanimous decision over Kaan Ofli in February, which was a successful rebound from his first setback in the UFC. Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov UFC Baku expert pick, prediction Kicking off the main card in Joe Silva-like fashion is a featherweight attraction between Muhammad Naimov and Bogdan Grad. Naimov's resume is a deceiving one when you factor in everything from his opportunistic style to his favorable fortunes with fouls and injuries alike. And though I suspect that Naimov's not far from being audited again, I don't think it comes here. Grad, who looks like a muscled-up version of Edward Furlong in "American History X," can make fights ugly and work his way back into them if he's allowed to stick around. However, Grad also has some porous striking defense to go along with some plodding footwork and linear advances that I see running him right into a Naimov counter hook. The pick is Naimov by knockout in Round 2. Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov UFC Baku odds The oddsmakers and the public favor the Tajik fighter, listing Naimov -260 and Grad +205 via FanDuel. Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov UFC Baku start time, how to watch As the main card opener, Grad and Naimov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 3:10 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Ex-New York Giants QB boldly predicted to win Comeback Player of the Year Award
The Daniel Jones era came to an end midway through the 2024 season for the New York Giants, and it was the right move for both sides. Though the Giants had already signed him to a $160 million contract during the prior offseason, the fit simply wasn't working for either side. Now, Jones is with the Indianapolis Colts and has a chance to take the starting job from the polarizing Anthony Richardson. In a way-too-early bold predictions article from Jeffri Chadiha of Jones was predicted to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award with his new team. Now, Jones gets to work with a creative offensive head coach in Shane Steichen, who happens to be the same man who helped take Jalen Hurts from raw talent to MVP-caliber quarterback in Philadelphia. Steichen likes quarterbacks who can move, and his time with Hurts proved that he could think outside of the box when it comes to maximizing a signal-caller's strengths. Steichen easily could be the man to take Jones to another level, especially when considering the Colts have better skill players and offensive line play than Jones ever enjoyed in New York. Nobody saw Darnold taking off when he arrived in Minnesota. Jones could do similar things in Indy if he stays healthy. While it's true the Colts probably have a better offensive line than what Jones has had to work with in New York, they've never had an elite talent like Malik Nabers in the receiver room. He should get the benefit of a solid rushing attack with Jonathan Taylor leading the way there as well. It would be quite the narrative for general manager Joe Schoen if Jones wound up reviving his career and winning the award just one season after Saquon Barkley went nuclear and entered the MVP conversation. It would take a lot for Jones to reach that level again with the Colts, but the Giants are now focused on their new direction with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart under center.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Nikolas Motta and Nazim Sadykhov meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. Last event: 5-1 UFC main cards, 2025: 57-44-1 Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku preview Motta (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) enters his first fight of the year on the heels of back-to-back wins in 2024. Last January, he finished Tom Nolan in the first round, followed by a unanimous decision over Hayisaer Maheshate. The hard-hitting lightweight has finished 10 of his 15 victories by KO or TKO. ... Sadykhov (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) has only suffered one defeat in his career, which came in 2018. Since then, he's gone unbeaten, winning 10 and drawing once – the only time he's reached the scorecards in the UFC. In his last outing in February, Sadykhov won a doctor's stoppage TKO over Ismael Bonfim. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku expert pick, prediction Serving as a solid action fight at lightweight is a battle between Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta. Sadykhov, a savvy southpaw who has long been hailed as a prospect by the legendary Serra-Longo camp, has followed his stablemate Merab Dvalishvili to Las Vegas to train with coach John Wood and the Syndicate MMA crew. This change hasn't appeared to be drastic for Sadykhov, but the Azerbaijani native is one of many fighters on this card with a more deceptive resume than meets the eye. Aside from the fact that Sadykhov lost two rounds to Evan Elder and Viacheslav Borschev without having to suffer a single loss, the 31-year-old tends to find himself in deceptively close fights where either cuts or scorecards have arguably bailed him out. Motta, on the other hand, had a handful of bad performances early on in his UFC career that came amid a slew of camp changes and short-notice bookings that subsequently caused everyone from the bookmakers to the gamblers to continually disrespect his chances despite his recent results. Motta is still a kill-or-be-killed fighter for the most part, but the Brazilian has made some measurable improvements to his overall game since splitting his time between his home bases of Xtreme Couture MMA and Bangtao Muay Thai. Now, Motta appears to be in the best shape of his life, showing more tools at range and improved pacing and grappling. Motta also shows the style of leg kicks and shoveling body shots that previous Sadykhov opponents have found success with. Don't get me wrong: Sadykhov is the deserved favorite and no one should be shocked if he replicates the murder scenes that Manual Torres and Jim Miller made before him. That said, we can't ignore the fact that power is a potent two-way street, and Motta has way too much of it for Sadykhov to be this heavily favored with his fast-and-loose style. For that reason, I suspect that the southpaw killer that is Motta's left hook will be live for as long as this fight lasts. A decision win isn't totally out of the question, but I'll take an unpopular flier on Motta to shock the world by catching Sadykhov cold in round 1. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku odds The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the hometown fighter, listing Sadykhov -430 and Motta +320 via FanDuel. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku start time, how to watch Motta and Sadykhov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 3:40 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
