The Incredibly Broken History of UFC Interim Titles

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What you'll find in today's video is that the convoluted interim title situation between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall is both nothing new, but also not the way it used to be. The fact is, over time interim titles in the UFC have continually gotten worse, especially since the UFC sold in 2016.
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#ufc #mma #jonjones #tomaspinall #ufc304

[@CoolToMe_]

Had a bunch of help from Tommy and Jason getting this one over the finish line, so massive shoutout to both of them on this one. Really does take a team effort to get these videos done, so seeing how much everyone is loving the content really does make it all worth it in the end!

[@lostvagabond365]

shut uppppppp...

[@lostvagabond365]

i kid i kid

[@CoolToMe_]

@@lostvagabond365 everything okay my man ?

[@lostvagabond365]

@@CoolToMe_ now thats a loaded question. lol nah im good ..i didnt mean it..just a bad joke..all love

[@CoolToMe_]

@@lostvagabond365 all good my man! Have a good day!

[@Jacious]

We have been 16 months without a HW title fight. If it were anyone but John Jones, they would have been stripped of the title.

[@duncanluciak5516]

It's gross at this point.

[@JosiahSullivan]

Did you watch this video?

[@steveyoung2877]

@@JosiahSullivanwould you need to, to have that opinion. Because I’m 1 minute in and I already had that opinion also before watching this video.

[@gerardoalfredorivas4707]

Even Connor was stripped in less time than Jones.. it’s just sad at this point. Dana really is making a fool of himself and the UFC. Crazy that Hunter and the rest of the brass can even support Dana on this

[@GoodStuff1992]

that sounds like a typical year when stipe was the champ

[@cadeblachly4502]

How is Jones gonna argue that Tom hasn't earned a title fight. Winning the interim championship is literally a guaranteed title shot.

[@StevelyBruckShut]

Jon has never liked interim belts

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Jon Jones is a bitch who is afraid to lose. He's come up with any rationalization to avoid having to fight Aspinall.

[@dannywhite7786]

U woudknt keep the same energy with Covington had it and got skipped over

[@yungcherm]

@@StevelyBruckShutdidn’t jones win an intrem belt

[@AdamSilverbu]

@@dannywhite7786 Yes, we would dude.

[@Godzilla52]

Interim's are great when they're used correctly, but the UFC has been abusing them for a while now. If a champ doesn't defend their belt after a year, that should lead to them being automatically stripped and the interim champ being upgraded to undisputed champ.

[@dayglow76]

😂 what because you say so?

[@ddandymann]

@@dayglow76 No because it would be beneficial for the sport and would keep divisions moving.

[@lowerclassbrats77]

​@@dayglow76 because it makes sense.

[@dayglow76]

😂🤣

[@markzuckergecko621]

So what if nobody wants to fight the champ, so all the contenders just wait it out for a year, so they don't have to fight the real champ?

[@jakelongstaff4102]

DONT CALL JON UNDISPUTED IF HES NOT BY DEFINITION

[@leroyjohnson3061]

HE IS

[@bronmill33]

@@leroyjohnson3061he by definition is not the undisputed champ when there is a literal interim champ disputing his status as champ

[@llllIllIIl]

@@leroyjohnson3061not too late to delete that comment

[@tommygunnggg1127]

Your not a champ until I defend, Jon is as much a champ a tom is neither beat the champ to get there belt, tom defends first cas he's not waiting to fight old men

[@yungjefe7423]

@@tommygunnggg1127if you have the belt you’re the champion by definition it’s pretty simple dude.

[@TheYurpman]

I understand interim titles if the champ is hurt. Once he comes back, he fights the interim champ and we move on. But if the holder of the actual title is able to compete but doesn't (Jones) then either strip the title from the non-fighting champ or get rid of interim belts altogether and just come out and say, "yeah if you're a mega star you can just hold on to the title forever." Because what they've done to Aspinall and the HW division in general makes no sense.

[@PlaylistProleteriat]

Yet the Jon Jones and Dana White fan boys say soooo much otherwise.😅

[@RyanRRodriguez]

Jones was hurt…what are we all talking about?

[@TheYurpman]

@@RyanRRodriguez yeah, he WAS hurt. He's no longer hurt. Dana asked him to fight at UFC 300 and he said no. How much longer do you allow Jones to say no, being healthy, before you strip his belt?

[@RyanRRodriguez]

@@TheYurpman dude tore the pec in October. Finally was able to start training again in April…when was UFC 300…in April lol. You would have told them no also. Just because they might change status to active after an injury doesnt mean they are 100% ready to go yet. You cannot punish someone for getting injured.

[@garrettgoss2691]

​@@RyanRRodriguezand it's still 3 months after he's good to train and there's still no rumbling from his camp about a potential fight, Stipe or Tom. He has Dana White privilege, just like Conor. They make enough money to be able to act like entitled brats and get away with it

[@timurjack8773]

Interim belts shouldn't be defended, if the undisputed champ is STILL not ready after interim champ is ready to fight again after winning the belt, then the interim champ should be upgraded as undisputed.

[@Tdizzy05]

Would defeat the entire point of interim champion, the interim part literally means they are the champ until the other champ comes back and then they unify the titles

[@hellogoodbye1748]

@@Tdizzy05if the undisputed champion refuses to fight the interim he should be stripped.

[@jspringer86]

@@Tdizzy05 Jones should be stripped. If you can't heal within a year then you need to vacate like Hill or Procházka. A pectoral tendon tear heal time is 4-6 months. Jones is scared of Tom and it's that simple.

[@Tdizzy05]

@@jspringer86 no he should just be forced to defend against aspinall and not get this fight with stipe nobody wants to see

[@jspringer86]

@@Tdizzy05 "no he should just be forced to defend against aspinall and not get this fight with stipe nobody wants to see" Thanks for agreeing with me.

[@Thiccolo]

Man Khabib read into Tony's future accurately

[@acboyardee6]

too accurately

[@gerardoalfredorivas4707]

Never thought that Dana White could be the person to disrespect his own sport/organization as much as he has with Jones and Aspinall

[@sgt.lincolnosiris4111]

Jones family is probably the most wealthy family Dana deals with in his organization. Its all about money and promises Dana made to Jon's mother.

[@danelynch7171]

Y'all sure cry alot....

[@gerardoalfredorivas4707]

@@danelynch7171 you probably started watching the UFC when Connor became double champ shut up

[@gerardoalfredorivas4707]

@@sgt.lincolnosiris4111 I mean damn bro if this is the case which I’m sure it could be it’s just so lame.. it just doesn’t make sense you know

[@danelynch7171]

@@gerardoalfredorivas4707 😂😂 sure thing bud.

[@MickeyOphelan]

“You can’t just come out and hand pick who you want for titles” “Jon Jones wants the Stipe fight so that’s what we’re going to do”

[@GengoSenmon]

Just as hypocritical as the Flags are allowed because "anyone who is too sensitive about flags is a p/ssy"...to Flags are NOT allowed...back to Flags are allowed again within 2 weeks🤦‍♂After Belal holds a Palestinian flag up at the next PPV, Dana will hypocritically ban flags again

[@jamesthompson9003]

Imagine if the UFC signed a 48yo Fedor - I wonder who Jones would want to fight 'for legacy' after old-man Stipe instead of champ Aspinall (also Fedor has a win 1-year more recent than Stipe's last one lol)

[@chucklebutt4470]

You can't just go and use Dana White's own words against him like that! 😂

[@DannyKnightblade45]

I'm glad you pointed out those quotes. Dana White can be a real hypocrite sometimes.

[@DammitBobby]

Jones never wanted the smoke. All we can hope is that Stipe beats him and then retires. Force Jon to either retire beltless or fight Tom for the undisputed.

[@yippyyippy6418]

He don’t believe in intern champs even when he was one 18:55

[@KingOfWinter]

It would be awesome if Stipe beats him. Everyone calling Stipe old would just say Jones is washed up now or something. i’ve never seen a fanbase hate on the fighters more than the UFC fans.

[@talemwakaheru5831]

​​@@yippyyippy6418 at least he's consistent

[@Ви́кторсмирнов-я4ь]

​@@KingOfWinterhe is washed 😂

[@ellerz]

​@@KingOfWinter stipe is old though, and he's been firefighting full time for a couple years now. I just don't see how he's going to be as good as he was 4/5 years ago

[@JonathanLopez-hh9jo]

Tony Ferguson’s interim title is the most prestigious interim title in my opinion. He was the best at the time. That was Tony’s prime wasn’t 100% after the injury and him vs Khabib would have been legendary

[@justherefortheviolence]

Defend or vacate

[@WtfIsLigma]

I HATE that people are getting on board with Periera vs Jones. This is insanity that some people are genuinely trying to claim that's the next fight to make rather than Aspinall vs Jones. It demonstrates how easily manipulated the MMA fan base is and also how incredibly fickle and forgetful they are.

[@velder22]

Yep

[@GengoSenmon]

They also casually forget that the weight/size/power difference between LHW and HW is the biggest of any other two consecutive divisions. Just because someone is good at LHW doesn't mean they are automatically good at HW.

[@TWJCole]

Because the UFC is about OUR ENTERTAINMENT, Pereira vs Jones would be the more interested fight

[@WtfIsLigma]

@@TWJCole how is it more interesting?! What? Jones fighting someone who can't wrestle, someone who has been taken down by everyone who has tried to take him down. That's more interesting than Jones fighting an explosive heavyweight with solid grappling in, your opinion? If Jones wants to fight Periera he should vacate at heavyweight and fight Alex at 205. He needs to stop holding the division hostage while he runs off and only takes fights he knows he can win. Fair enough, be a Jones/Periera fan but stop lying to yourself, please.

[@TWJCole]

@@WtfIsLigma don't care

[@silvasnow3861]

Jones doing his usual... Stalling fights until he's convinced he can beat the opponent.

[@jaesterling7546]

The interim title should’ve never been made. It doesn’t make sense. If anything it’s just to put a belt on a PPV for extra buys.

[@yoelbromero44]

Exactly, it’s a belt for a number 1 contenders match. Stupid.

[@insertnamehere4051]

It especially makes no sense with the Tom Aspinall situation. Nobody was singing Tom’s praises until he had a belt to vouch for himself. Otherwise he would just be the guy who beat the boogeyman Pavlovich.

[@doublea4012]

It makes sense if they stripped the holder for let's say an injury orr him not wanting to fight

[@donovanware2200]

It does make sense, injuries happen. Champ gets injured, instead of stripping them of the title you give them some time and build a guaranteed contender. Dummy

[@jaesterling7546]

@@doublea4012 ok fine, only if that’s their plan to do that guy vs champ when he’s back, but other than that it’s just so confusing and muddy and makes no sense to do, they knew Jon wasn’t gonna fight Tom or Pav it was always Stipe, so why do it?

[@KirbyBackwards]

Worth noting that Pavlovich was the designated backup for the Stipe Jones fight & Aspinall still came in on two weeks notice and smoked him, seriously one of the most talented fights on the roster right now

[@GengoSenmon]

People seriously think Blaydes and Poatan will both sleep him🤦‍♂ They seriously don't realize: Aspinall > Every other fighter in the entire UFC

[@Itbebobby]

Aspinal defending an interim belt is all you need to know that they’ve gone way too far with this interim shit

[@Sicboyz-ku2wr]

Best channel for MMA history

[@swanbe01]

This channel and Napoleon Blownapart.

[@TheElbowMerchant]

​@@swanbe01Yessir! Nap is amazing.

[@CeBme]

Goes to.... BiRDHOUSE MMA

[@kostic211]

Man it’s getting out of control with the STAR factor. Just bc a champion is a bigger star than the other fighters isn’t a reason that they get do what they want and don’t need to defend the belt. But it will never change and I hate it

[@GengoSenmon]

It changes if you are slick on the mic outside the octagon and create drama. Problem is, none of them can do it like Conor.

[@Jeffrey_Tyler]

It's what happened to boxing and it was inevitable that it happened to the UFC. It's about the money. It is prize fighting.

[@jbortiz98]

Tom got his interim title shot because the PPV needed a belt, the UFC made their own mess with that

[@julchien9901]

Wasnt pereira vs prochazka the headliner for the lhw belt?

[@yasin_ucar]

They didnt have to alex and jiri was main event

[@creasedhorizon8931]

Tom being champ wouldn't be a mess, it would mean Heavyweight actually has an active champ. It's Jon having the belt that is the mess. They should just let Jones and Stipe fight without the belt to retire, and let the division move on. It would be different if Jones had fought more than one heavyweight, but with Gane being the only one and Jones only having fought once in 4 years, there's just no reason for them not to strip him. The heavyweight division needs movement badly and you objectively aren't getting that with Jones as champ. No matter how you feel about him it's true that he's holding up the division.

[@tooshady47446ttv]

​@@creasedhorizon8931bones doesn't wanna fight anymore he just wants the attention and to hold on to the belt for years. It's pitiful to watch Dana gargle the cheaters balls on a daily basis. Yeah he's unbeaten but he also stays that way because he avoids actually fighting until he can't anymore after every single fight. It's getting really old

[@ScaredWatched]

You forgetting the main event title fight lmao

[@Rammsteinfanboy2]

I forgot which channel brought it up around 2017-2018 but it's an excuse to bolster lackluster PPVs. They'll promote it as a title fight and if there's already a title fight promote it as "Look there's 2 title fights on this card!".

[@bruce4751]

ABR pfp is awesome bro.

[@lightwavewrestling314]

MMA Che?

[@Choom89]

Jones has been hiding down at LHW his entire career with the same height/reach as Francis Ngannou. He took fights vs literal Middleweights rather than moving up to make super fights with Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Jhonson or Francis(not to mention Stipe in his 30's). He wouldn't move up to fight DC who started their trilogy at 36 and had a harder time each fight making weight. Frankly dude is the most overhyped cheat the sport has ever seen, his win over Gane was a neck crank--a move that should be considered small joint manipulation and 100% illegal as are his knee kicks and the arm crank that injured Glover Teixeira. That doesn't even touch on his PED usage or the complete robbery of Dominck Reyes.

[@bo1g3r]

hahahah you are truly slow in the head, a clissic i started watching mma in 2019 type guy. simplejack, 100%

[@asraarradon4115]

While I agree with you about everything you said about Jones, a neck crank is a legitimate submission in the UFC. Not defending Jones, just defending neck cranks.

[@jessepride88223]

Brother Dominic Reyes didn't fight in the 4th and 5th rounds he did not win that fight

[@stevealford230]

The most ridiculous assertion I've ever heard might just be that neck cranks are 100% illegal. His oblique kick to the knee isn't illegal... it's just the most unethical p.o.s. technique in the entire organization.

[@Choom89]

@@stevealford230 I did not say that they ARE illegal--I said they SHOULD be illegal on the same level as any small joint manipulation.

[@MrJcock12]

Yo what if Stipe somehow wins and walks off into the sunset as the hw goat and only person to beat Jones. Shit would actually be insane lol

[@Iambetterthanyouanduknowit]

You sound like the guys who said cowboy was gonna beat Connor. It’s never gonna happen lol

[@paying-for-free-speech]

Thomas 'The Tank' Aspinall

[@jasonbored8319]

Choo choo 🚉

[@GDAWG.]

Aspinall v the fat controller

[@DrSpaceman42]

Tom “No Ringname” Aspinall

[@dirtdawgz8326]

@@paying-for-free-speech thomas "the one ranked win" aspinall😂

[@DarrellWilkerson4.6]

​@dirtdawgz8326 were volkov or tybura not ranked?

[@enricobreveglieri397]

I wonder where does Kevin Lee fit in all of this...

[@geezushasrisen]

Filling out some holes in his game.

[@meh7348]

If it was anyone other than Jones they would have been stripped AND roasted in public by Dana.

[@WalterYeti]

Rah... That woman sitting with Dana slipped away quick! 😂 23:24

[@CeBme]

Thanks to Colby

[@GengoSenmon]

Noticed that too. Was definitely the hired help to 'accompany' him that night😏

[@HonestWatchReviewsHWR]

Jones should be stripped of the title that he never really earned in the first place. Then we can set up the real fight that everyone wants to see, Aspinall vs Pereira.

[@gothickingmongoose3028]

Yeah, Dana should listen to you, right? 😂 Clown.

[@bryanmylosoko]

@@HonestWatchReviewsHWR I'd rather see Jones v Pereira. Best bet most people want that too

[@HonestWatchReviewsHWR]

@@bryanmylosoko Why though? Pereira would destroy him.

[@konsmiddel]

@@HonestWatchReviewsHWR Dont let the Jon stans hear you say that. I was surprised cus I was watching another MMA channel and the comments were full of Jon stans talking about how noone wants to see Jon VS Pereira cus Jon would just take Pereira down and destroy him and that would be boring for anyone. Never seen a more delusional fan base

[@HonestWatchReviewsHWR]

@@konsmiddel Crazy isn't it? He's after one last easy fight, then he's going to retire I think.

[@drunkenmmamaster419]

The ufc is missing out on promoting a potential superstar in Tom Aspinall mma is super popular in the UK it makes zero sense 🤦‍♂️ I don't even think the ufc tries anymore they already won the race

[@JosiahSullivan]

UFC not promoting Aspinall. You mean like giving him a belt. Or by giving him another title fight. I guess I can see what you mean.

[@KingRetro626]

Idk why mma on point is crying about Jones. It was said on the night Aspinal won his power ranger belt that Jones would still fight Stipe upon his return.

[@danelynch7171]

He isn't really popular outside of the UK though. We hardly know the guy yet ...

[@DrSpaceman42]

@@KingRetro626power ranger belt. Jon got his for choking a frenchmen with 0 ground game.

[@Ви́кторсмирнов-я4ь]

​@DrSpaceman69 0 ground with three submissions on his record. He clearly has some ground game. Clearly just hating on jones😂

[@justinwright7469]

It really should be one of those things where if you don’t defend the title within a certain amount of time you vacate

[@velder22]

But the UFC is a popularity contest so they don't ever want to put anything in writing cuz they can do whatever the f*** they want

[@kaltkalt2083]

NO MORE DOUBLE CHAMPS! You need to vacate your title if you want to have a title shot at a different weight class. And you should have to win at least one fight in that division before jumping over everyone else to a title shot. But even if they do get an immediate title shot, they need to vacate their current belt first. That was always the understanding before the leprechaun to whom no rules apply.

[@just_lungi04]

Although I'm a Conor fan giving him double champ status was a terrible decision

[@gothickingmongoose3028]

​@@just_lungi04Conor didn't even defend any of his belts.

[@danelynch7171]

If you become undeniable, and you can defend both, more power to them.

[@just_lungi04]

@@gothickingmongoose3028 exactly

[@miguelladinodevera614]

Since Conman never defended his titles his reigns r invalidated. GSP, Spider, Jones, Machida, Randy, Chuck, Jose Aldo, Renan Barao, BJ Penn, Dom Cruz, and Fedor all had to defend their titles. They had to prove their dominance in their respective weight classes which is the only way to put their title.reigns over. Conman just conveniently ducked his contenders. It's pure bs on his part.

[@PrinceIsot]

Never wanted Stipe to win a fight more.

[@JosiahSullivan]

Do you hate Aspinall that much? Maybe Stipe will get a big boost if he beats Jones so that his fight with Tom would be big. But I don’t think it would be bigger than Tom fighting Jones. Besides, Jon would go right back to LHW and do the biggest fight in UFC history with Alex.

[@PrinceIsot]

@@JosiahSullivan no, Jon is retiring if he beats Stipe

[@michaelwatkins9479]

lol I feel you, but both jones and stipe probably retire after, no matter the result. If that’s the case, I’d rather see Jon fight aspinal

[@GoodStuff1992]

​@@michaelwatkins9479jon has publicly stated that stipe was his last fight. stipe never said he is looking to retire after the fight

[@filipferencak2717]

​@@JosiahSullivanJon would not go back to LHW, he'd get a rematch with Stipe which is actually worse

[@Gojimaru]

It's a gimmick but the UFC doesn't do gimmicks in Dana's words.

[@tabobbiburnett6740]

Was the music a little distracting in this video? I usually love it in the background but it felt louder than normal like it was competing over the commentary

[@eazypeazy33]

I’m starting to think Jon is ducking Tom.

[@velder22]

Lol

[@matthewwithoos8613]

Can anyone explain why Jon keeps the title when he won't actually defend it. Stipe isn't a title contender anymore.

[@Arkus123]

Jones is a star and one of the most famous UFC fighters in history so the company doesn't want him to risk losing to Aspinall or Pavlovich so they're giving him an easy fight against a legend so that he can retire undefeated and can say that he "beat the heavyweight GOAT"

[@matthewwithoos8613]

@Arkus123 so basically the fight is a total joke. This fight should be in bellator

[@Arkus123]

@@matthewwithoos8613 yeah pretty much it's just an escape plan for Jones and Dana wants to make Jones the UFC's Micheal Jordan but no one will ever accept him as that.

[@b.h.7430]

Dana doesn't want to see Jon Jones lose in a legitimate competition. Bad for bussiness, Dana can claim he had the greatest fighter in history.

[@Jericho642]

At HW, Jones and Stipe have a combined record of just 1 win in the last 4 years. 1 win / 2 fights. This debacle is ridiculous. JBJ needs to defend his belt against the interim belt holder. Then he can fight the next contender

[@wickedcaitsith]

Connor calling Aldo a pussy for pulling out with a broken rib has certainly aged.

[@dannywhite7786]

Conor pulls out of one fucking fight because he needs to win and this is the shit people say it’s funny. But if he came back and lost you’d be shitting on him

[@ChayseYT]

The UFC is unique bc there is only 1 champion it makes it more valuable. I’m afraid it’s going to turn into boxing or wwe with all the weird titles (ex BMF)

[@konsmiddel]

Tbh a middle ground would be best, with 2 or maybe 3 legit organizations and belts. As it is right now the UFC has way to much control which aint good in the long run. Hopefully we wont end up with a ton of organizations so every single fighter is an undefeated champion somehow like in Boxing though...

[@grahamwebb1367]

if the title isn't there to be defended the next fight after interim the undisputed should be stripped and interim champ elevated to champion

[@DylanZovko]

INTERIM TITLES SHOULD BE SILVER - YOU CANT CHANGE MY MIND.

[@KZ_MMA_]

Jon Jones is ducking Tom Aspinall. Tom stops Jon's wrestling and sleeps him on the feet.

[@bryanmylosoko]

@@KZ_MMA_He's 12-4 or whatever and you think he's the new Messiah. Tom is good but Jones is Jones

[@danelynch7171]

😂😂😂😂

[@BigShugZ]

​@@bryanmylosoko Jones not being a natural HW + Tom being a being a better striker = Jones loses Jones knows this....hence he's ducking Tom

[@bo1g3r]

aspinal about to be walked by blaydes again, then all you tommy boy babys have to find somehting new to cry about

[@SizzlingMMA]

I personally dont give a shit about interim titles. If it helps create good fights and the people competing in them get a pay bump then why get mad over it.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

I don't have a problem with the interim belts as long as the champ has to fight the interim champ when they come back. What Bisping did and what Jones is doing is ridiculous.

[@tudorulz]

Picojones always jabs at Tom for winning the belt of a non champion, while he himself won it off of Gane…Jones acting like the champ is hilarious

[@MerrickMorin]

There should be term limits (18 months) to hold a belt without fighting. Interim should in theory be the first challenger to the undisputed.

[@alexiscarranza7948]

In my eyes the interim champion is the champion. If for whatever reason the champ can’t fight then he can’t currently be the ultimate FIGHTING champion. For whatever reason. Look at how Olympics is done. If the defending champ is hurt for the current games, they don’t stay champion. It allows the division to move forward from bad/unhealthy champions. They just need to give it the prestige it deserves

[@creasedhorizon8931]

In this case the interim belt means more than the actual belt because its the one being defended lol Jon is the nepotism champ. Tom is the real people's champ.

[@charlesgraham9954]

Jon hasn't beaten a heavyweight champ let alone an MMA heavyweight, Serial Con is just that, a con jog.

[@Lutfur12345]

20:03 I forgot how funny this was 💀😂

[@vercingetorixavernian8978]

UFC n DANA not promoting Tom fight, or Belal fight!!! It’s a f**king disgrace!! I have seen 0.00% marketing for UFC 304

[@Jericho642]

A reminder that Jon Jones last fought 15/16 months ago. His previous fight before that 4.5 years ago. The fact that Jones is still ranked is ridiculous. Any other fighter would have been forced to defend their title against the interim champ a long time ago, or be stripped of their title.

[@hhtptai]

Remember the great middleweight mess of 2016 to 2019? I'm pretty sure they had three interim champions in that time.

[@NewWorldCT]

If you defend the interim title; it should be considered the linear title. Period. If Jon doesn't want to fight him, then strip him.

[@EvilHina]

Bro the new p4p rankings just came in and Alex Perreira is now RANKED NUMMBER 2 and passed Jon Jones!

[@Choom89]

@@EvilHina he's also taking all comers and finishing fights in devastating fashion instead of trying to gain sympathy for being 36.

[@RetroHabit82]

If you cant defend a title within a declared time, you should get stripped

[@warsmith01]

Jon Jones is rapidly making himself irrelevant. He MUST fight Aspinall. Stipe is almost as irrelevant as he is at this point. I don't want that fight. Few do. Strip Jon and the next fight Aspinall has is for the undisputed. 'Nuff said.

[@44neelakandasarmak99]

I think Interim belt really loved GSP, its almost always coming back to him

[@shanedustin9149]

if john wont fight tom strip him, then jones and stipe can fight for whos the most irrelevent

[@DreIsGoneFission]

Jones went to Diddy parties with Dana. This is the only explanation for how attached to Conor, Rhonda, and Jon that Dana is.

[@soliderfromtf2]

Man dana is actively fucking over the heavyweight division. First he let francis walk, the jones won and only wants a fight with a past his prime stipe, now we have an intrim champ and jon dosnt want to fight tom. Just strip jon and make tom the true champ.

[@AUSSIEKULUBOXA]

Nup. Guess why

[@tooshady47446ttv]

The UFC as a whole is broken. It's become more about money and clout than about learning the arts

[@xxtonyx650xx]

Stipe is 41 is coming off a loss and hasn't won in almost 4 years. Why is he in the title shot conversation?

[@Arkus123]

It's an escape plan for Jon Jones so that he can say that he beat the "heavyweight GOAT" in Stipe before he retires without having to defend against Aspinall.

[@Juicelee777ssj]

This video taught me that despite the convoluted history of the interim titles in the UFC, there has never been a women's interim champion in any of the divisions. That's such a strange fact because I thought there would have been one but I guess not.

[@lockeddownboxing9904]

With complete honesty, given the movements Dominic Cruz woule have no wonder he'd tear his knee etc. its a very joint-heavy style. Imagine doing it endlessly for years. Sooner or later you gonna tear a muscle or two..

[@tdyerwestfield]

Without injuries, Cruz would be in the GOAT conversation. Those injuries are probably the reason he continued to fight on for too long once he was finally fit again, another reason getting demolished by Cody would've prolonged his career too long to recover from that defeat.

[@notme3686]

They need to strip jones and if he ever comes back he can immediately try for it from aspinall

[@akatzzki]

One of the most well made videos u guys ever made. For sure one of my favorites.

[@CYMotorsport]

I find it strange not once mentioned here either is the interim tag associated with a way to massively enhance a fighters compensation package with participation points. A known fact Dana has confirmed multiple times over as have fighters. Ppl love to btch and moan (not meaning you) about fighter pay but the second a fighter steps up to assume the role of champion carrying the division the best they can, ppl all of a sudden call an interim belt “stupid” or “pointless”. Which is it? Crocodile tears or let them get a bag. This Jon “duck” business is outlandish and bizarre at best. Signed title fight contract before an interim holder was crowned of course. The story keeps getting retold like Jon is returning to fight NOT the interim when literally that’s not what happened. The ink was dry on the contract with stipe. In ALL OF THESE examples, not one of them was a situation where a bout agreement was signed with the the unified champion to fight the #1 contender and the contender pull out only for the champion to get hurt later AND the #1 contender not fight since being named #1 contender. THATS why we’re here. We honored the title #1 contender and they never lost AND named an IC. It’s unfortunate timing for injuries but at the end of they sat were honoring contracts and promises. Since when do ppl want fighters actively screwed? It’s a very rare situation. I just don’t get the complaining. The interim holder is only defending bc of injuries; aka extenuating circumstances. You legally can’t always strip a guy for a bonafide injury. Not always. Well documented precedent. Your boy Tom is getting ppv pts (pending they don’t draw abysmally) to avenge his only loss… on home soil… I will never understand why people have an issue here. He’s being compensated like a champion. When guys pretend it doesn’t matter they are lying to tell the story to put pressure on the ufc and make fans think they are being cheated. It’s easier to rally for their title fight like that. Case in point: ppl are pretending Jon is ducking Tom lol jesus christ. Meanwhile Tom has a loss in his column and he’s not itching to go get it back with loads of money on the line. But how dare anyone talk about that. Name one single other time a guy lost to someone and didn’t demand a rematch. ESPECIALLY if they had the belt. Imagine if izzy was asking for the Alex fight once he arrived haha do you understand how that looks? That’s what Tom is doing. Except he’s not even unified with a the reigning champion hurt and the fight not even possible fight now and he’s STILL doing it. This isn’t Riddick Bowe binning his straps to get out of fighting Lennox. I said I once I’ll say it 100x… I’m not going biggest fan of Jon or stipe but I will not campaign against an obvious send off cash cow fight for a guy who gave so much to the heavyweight division. Deserve isn’t a word I like to use but stipe deserves his payday. And Jon is LITERALLY the only one who can give him that. If there was another option they would do it.

[@DPtdryste]

"Pausing" yourself on TV while trying to aggressively intimidate another man is crazy work hahaha

[@saa_shady780]

The reason Dana will not put Aspinall against his little golden boy is he know jones would get destroyed by aspinall!

[@GrownUpKid94]

This is why i ride the “defend or vacate” train so hard. If you can’t defend, you get stripped and you’re number one contender.

[@danyo6938]

The domino effect is crazy here

[@cracklecracklebaybay5612]

I don't respect Jones as a human, but think he's the best we've ever seen in MMA. But I never thought I'd see the day that he was ducking ANY fighter.......Jon is ducking Aspinall though. No other way to look at it. As surely as he's a woman beater, he is ducking Tom.

[@jakelongstaff4102]

he ducked chael years back tbf. first man to cancel a ufc event as he did want to fight chael who was a short notice replacement for Hendon. plus he ducked ngannou too, and a clean fight with dc and gus in the rematches (yes that counts as ducking as its avoiding a fair fight)

[@Choom89]

@@cracklecracklebaybay5612 ducked Anthony Johnson and everyone at HW for years.

[@indigatorveritatis8891]

Since July 7, 2018, Stipe is 2 - 2.... exactly 6 years today. He's literally fought 4 times in 6 years, and lost half of them. And he was flatlined in his last fight 3 1/2 years ago. Yet he's going to be fighting 4 years after that loss for the belt. Would be funny if this card is a huge loss.

[@Russianbot101]

Beginning to think Jones has pictures of Dana in compromising positions at this point… , especially with Dana’s delusional p4p rants lately …

[@brendonross5774]

0:17 Jones looks like he’s a decade into his retirement, a chubby day drinking “back in my day” mofo.

[@SuperRKO92]

Interim titles should only be used in the case of a long term injury to prevent a division from floundering. Dana uses them as an excuse to slap a fancy name on a card just to boost buys now and they have absolutely no merit whatsoever

[@Webbie2689]

I don’t want to disrespect anyone else at MMA On Point, but as soon as I hear Tommy’s voice I know I’m staying for the entirety of the video.

[@DJ-my2sh]

I hope Aspinals defense actually counts as a title defense in the record

[@Squaringlikeaboxofcoinflakes]

lets be honest the UFC are doing Aspinall dirty.

[@GrGidley99]

Great video. What a level of shenanigans!

[@craigpiercer79]

Tommy Toe Hold will always be my favorite voice in MMA! Love these deep dives!

[@Hugo-ie4cp]

I don’t understand how Dana views the Ortiz/Liddell and Jones/Aspinall situation so differently. They are literally almost the same and yet this time because it’s Jones he is completely fine with him ducking.

[@velder22]

That music you have behind Eddie Bravo talking is almost the exact music that plays in my head when I hear him talk about anything

[@IKBENEENPAARD]

Jon holding up the division is criminal. Lets move on from this steroid abusing homelander.

[@MichaelSpikes-pv6kl]

Excellent video

[@AWhistlingWolf]

Jones might be the LHW GOAT, but he spent years avoiding Ngannou and now he's openly saying he's avoiding Aspinall. He's not stupid, he knows he could get finished. Like he said about Weidman beating Silva: "Nobody is unbeatable". He just fears a KO so he stays behind.

[@wrollins1984]

Love the quality of work this channel puts out.

[@Ashw1115]

Tony was scared of Khabib. “Slipped on production cord” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ciaracet0716]

Thats pic of Aljamain's neck is crazy: cant believe he fought like that

[@DizzyDez613]

Saying I got a UFC Interim title belt is like saying I got a toy with my happy meal. - Chael Sonnen

[@theSuperviLLain_est]

While being torn the eff up after an accident, Frank Mir had the intelligence to think to breathe slowly and focus on that, to give him more time to live. Jesus.

[@OJsOtherGlove]

28:54 I don't see Dana stripping Jon of the HW title if Tom wins. He's more likely to let Jon keep it if the plan is still Jon v Stipe

[@johnnywalker2880]

UFC matchmaking - why is it opaque? UFC title policy - why is it ad hoc? I don't know, why. But I do know that I don't watch as many UFC fights as I used to. I would like to see a fair, unbiased, meritocratic, ranking-based matchmaking and title holding systems and I think the UFC would benefit from having them.

[@SH-AQ_1]

5:51 I like how the bigger the division is, the nicer the fighters are.

[@tdyerwestfield]

Jones is the disputed champ. Heavily disputed. Hasn't fought for 16 months, has fought once in 5 years, only fought once in the division, hasn't had a single defence, doesn't have a fight lined up, still hasn't been stripped.

[@johnfalcetta5431]

Absolutely amazing video. Great work

[@milanowns]

Great video! I love most of your stuff. Great work guys 👍