The UFC heavyweight division is about to start making some progress in the title picture.

It’s not the fight he was hoping for, but interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is staying active and going to defend his title. At UFC 304, Aspinall is set to rematch Curtis Blaydes in Manchester, England on July 27. It will be the first interim title defense since bantamweight’s Renan Barao defeated Eddie Wineland via second-round spinning back kick TKO at UFC 165 in 2013. Coincidentally, current undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson in the main event directly after Barao’s victory.

Divisions just aren’t the same when Jones gets involved. At least since 2020 when he departed his longtime home of 205 pounds, sending the division into a nightmarishly cursed hot potato title exchange. “Bones’” eventual return as a heavyweight last year saw him compete for vacant gold after former champion Francis Ngannou’s departure from the promotion. Jones defeated Ciryl Gane in the bout, became champion, was set to defend against Stipe Miocic, then suffered a torn pectoral muscle which led to Aspinall’s interim coronation over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November.

Despite Jones’ recent return to training and the titles needing unification, Jones vs. Miocic is still the plan as evidenced further by the interim title defense booking. However, most view Aspinall vs. Blaydes 2 as a more legitimate overall heavyweight title affair, including both competitors.

“That’s how I’m approaching it,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie. “When I told my family, my brothers, my dad, my sister, ‘I’m fighting for a belt,’ I didn’t say interim belt. I said a belt. Honestly, a majority of casual fans, they don’t know the difference. I’m sure a lot of them are probably perplexed like, ‘How does Aspinall have a belt and Jon have a belt?’ They probably don’t understand the concept of interim vs. undisputed, and they don’t care. All they see is a shiny belt and you holding it in a UFC octagon. That’s all they need. So to me, it is the real belt.”

Blaydes, 33, has been a staple amongst the heavyweight Top 10 for several years. Always one big win away from a title shot, “Razor’s” time is finally now. For Aspinall, he’ll seek redemption after an ill-fated 15-second ACL tear in their first encounter in July 2022. The result was ruled a TKO loss for the British champion, making Blaydes the only man to hold a win over him inside the octagon.

As soon as Jones vs. Miocic was discussed and eventually announced in 2023, fear accumulated throughout the community that it could be a double retirement fight, or at least, the last time we’d see the winner. In recent weeks and months, Jones, 36, has expressed his minimal desire in a matchup with Aspinall. Therefore, Blaydes admits he sees himself having even less of a chance of garnering the interest of the all-time great.

“If I win or if Aspinall wins, I don’t think Jon’s going to fight anyone outside of Stipe,” Blaydes said. “After Stipe, he walks away into the sunset. I think he likes to toss out different scenarios like, ‘What if I fought Alex Pereira? What if I fought Aspinall? What if I fought Blaydes?’ He wants people to talk about him, which I get. The more you get talked about the better your following grows and it helps your sponsors. I get it. He’s skilled at it. He’s been on the internet for as long as I’ve had Facebook and Instagram, he’s always been a presence. He knows what he’s doing. But do I honestly believe he would risk his legacy against a guy like me? No. ‘Cause if he beats me, what does it do for his legacy?

“Are you going to be like, ‘Oh, that was the fight that finally cemented Jon as the GOAT.’ Either you believe he’s the GOAT already, or you don’t. It’s like M.J. (Michael Jordan) vs. LeBron [James]. If you already don’t believe that LeBron is the GOAT, there isn’t anything he can do to change your mind, and vice versa. If you already believe he is the GOAT. However you view Jon Jones at this moment or after he fights Stipe, that’ll be the lasting image. And I don’t think he’s going to do anything to jeopardize that.”

Jones has openly stated the importance of bolstering his legacy at this stage and believes Miocic is the best one to do that next. The former two-time champion’s next bout would make for his first since he lost the title to the aforementioned Francis Ngannou via second-round knockout at UFC 260 in March 2021.

Mathematically speaking, Aspinall and Blaydes have been the more active fighters of the four in the title scene this decade. Unfortunately for them, they’re stuck in a spot where the division is under stranglehold by the legends, believes Blaydes.

“It’s not going to be a smooth transition of power,” Blaydes said about Jones’ eventual departure. “He’s not going to just — I know I said he’s going to walk off into the sunset, but I meant he’s going to ‘retire’ unofficially, but he’s not going to officially retire for who knows [how long]. It could be a year, a year-and-a-half. However long the UFC allows him to string it along, he’ll do it.”

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TOP STORIES

Hindsight. Tyson Fury vows he would’ve chased Oleksandr Usyk knockout if he knew he was down

Victory. Oleksandr Usyk reacts to referee controversy in Tyson Fury fight, gets emotional at presser

Lessons. Cory Sandhagen doubles down on Chito Vera criticism: ‘Did you learn anything from our fight?’

DQ. Ariane Carnelossi reveals facial injuries following UFC Vegas 92 headbutts, responds to Piera Rodriguez

Cancelation. Khalil Rountree Jr. out of Jamahal Hill fight at UFC 303 due to doping violation

Unique. Melissa Gatto explains why she wasn’t surprised with bizarre UFC Vegas 92 chest-punch knockout

Gambling. Leon Edwards, Tom Aspinall, Bobby Green all favored to win in UFC 304 opening odds

Goal. Carlos Ulberg wants top opponent after quick finish at UFC St. Louis, eyes Jamahal Hill at UFC 303

Support. Dricus du Plessis defends Jake Paul’s hustle: ‘He’s not a sh*t boxer’

Cheater. Piera Rodriguez blasts ‘coward’ Ariane Carnelossi after UFC Vegas 92 headbutt disqualification loss

$$$. UFC Vegas 92 bonuses: Angela Hill cashes extra $50K for first career submission

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LET’S WATCH

UFC Vegas 92 and Fury-Usyk Post Shows.

Poirier Fight Marathon.

Free fight.

PFL Epilogue.

Park vs. Fukuda hype video.

Aspinall in Vegas.

Nurmagomedov school.

Leg-breaking techniques.

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MORNING MUSIC

Guess which movie I watched this weekend.

Shoutout to @BurritoGibran on Twitter for today’s reader jam.

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Countdown.

Contrast.

Gone but not forgotten.

Reaction.

Zabit sighting.

Congrats!

Sea life.

Muay Thai Jessy things.

History for the champ.

More Jon...

Storm chase.

Beef.

Nice.

I don’t see why not.

Couldn’t tell ya.

Buckley has competition with this one.

Informative judging thread.

Response.

Bros.

Sights with the Bispings.

Nice try, Terry.

Harry Potter problems.

Kape.

Classic.

Art.

Another countdown.

Whoops.

Knees.

Trilogy.

Not great.

Only in Russia.

Chaos!

GOAT.

Crossover.

Gold vision.

Got ‘er done.

Welcome.

Called it.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Xiao Long (26-8) vs. Chang Ho Lee (9-1); UFC Saudi Arabia, June 22

Charles Jourdain (15-7-1) vs. Jean Silva (12-2); UFC 303, June 29

Caolan Loughran (9-1) vs. Ramon Taveras (10-2); UFC 304, July 27

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I love that everyone is starting to agree with how absurd this Jones-at-heavyweight saga has become. I mean, look at last week’s poll results below! The polls don’t lie!

Thanks for reading!

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POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 44% of 317 total votes answered "Yes" when asked, "Will Conor McGregor fight for a UFC title if he beats Michael Chandler?"

Thursday: 46% of 228 total votes answered "Edson Barboza and Patchy Mix" when asked, "Who wins this weekend?" Lerone Murphy defeated Barboza via unanimous decision in UFC Vegas 92's main event and Mix defeated Magomed Magomedov via split decision in Bellator Paris' main event.

Wednesday: 59% of 241 total votes answered "UFC Vegas 92" when asked, "Which is the better event this week?"

Tuesday: 56% of 437 total votes answered "Better" when asked, "Would you give Aljamain Sterling a better or worse chance of beating Sean O’Malley in a rematch at featherweight?"

Monday: 17% of 544 total votes answered "0" when asked, "What is your interest level for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic out of 10?"

Today’s exit poll:

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