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The uncertainty surrounding the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall continues to leave the MMA world irate. Now, an undefeated fighter who once competed for the UFC's flyweight division has taken to X/Twitter, calling on the promotion to strip Jones of the heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Mokaev, a Dagestani-born Englishman, recently expressed his frustration with the situation. With Jones seemingly exhibiting no signs of agreeing to a title unification with interim champion Aspinall, Mokaev feels there is no choice but for the UFC to relieve Jones of his championship duties:
"Give Aspinall belt"
Check out Muhammad Mokaev's post below:
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Mokaev and Aspinall are familiar with each other. Not only are they both Englishmen, but Aspinall, whose submission skills have been on display in the UFC before, once worked as Mokaev's Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach. It is only natural that he wants to see his fellow countryman succeed.
Meanwhile, Mokaev himself is still determined to return to the UFC after parting ways with the promotion under poor circumstances. He has, for the time being, returned to Brave CF, which was his first home as a professional MMA fighter.
In his comeback bout, he took on Joevincent So at Brave CF 91 in late 2024, submitting him less than two minutes into round one with a D'arce choke.
Aspinall, though, hasn't fought since defending his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch at UFC 304, where he defeated his foe via first-round knockout.
Jon Jones hasn't yet decided if he will fight again
Despite holding on to the UFC heavyweight title, Jon Jones isn't fully committed to returning to the octagon, at least not while the specter of Tom Aspinall looms large over his career and the division as a whole. Even though he remains non-committal, he refuses to announce his retirement outright.
A fan recently asked Jones about his feeling after retiring, 'Bones' clapped back at him and said:
"I don't know if I wanna call it retired, I feel like I'll always have an ability to pop out and show em. I've had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact. I'm genuinely enjoying life, I'm growing in different ways."
