Former UFC interim heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes, who is set to face Rizvan Kuniev at UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr., recently spoke out in support of the idea of Jon Jones being stripped of his UFC Heavyweight title for not facing interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
“If you look at the availability of guys, there wasn’t anyone else for me to fight. I haven’t fought since last July, and I want to make some money this year. Jon Jones holding the belt and not fighting is making the division stagnant. If he doesn’t fight, I think he should be stripped. We all get it—he’s a GOAT, he’s great. But if you’re not going to be active, what are you doing holding the belt? He enjoys his name being talked about, but I’m over it already. It’s been long enough since he beat Stipe. If you’re a real fan, you understand every year he waits, he gets a little slower, a little weaker, and loses hype. But the casuals will always be hyped for him.”
The tides have turned against Jon Jones’ favor when it comes to the court of public opinion, as pretty much everyone but the most staunch Jon Jones fanatics agrees to the idea of stripping Jon Jones and elevating Tom Aspinall to the undisputed champion to keep the division moving, as Curtis Blaydes says.
Curtis Blaydes is not alone in his criticism of Jon Jones.
With many others calling for the stripping of Jon Jones’ title for a plethora of reasons. Such as continuing the motion in the heavyweight division, and for the sake of the legitimacy and meritocracy of the sport, that if removed, relegates MMA and the UFC to glorified shoot wrestling matches.
