Jon Jones will not defend his heavyweight title at UFC 295 next month as he is out of action due to injury, with Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich stepping in to fight for an interim title.
Jones has suffered a serious pectoral muscle injury in training and will be out for eight months, as confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White.
The UFC heavyweight champion was due to defend against Stipe Miocic, but it has not been announced why the former champion is also now off the card at Madison Square Garden.
Replacing the two UFC legends are Britain’s Aspinall and Russia’s Pavlovich, with White explaining on social media that light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira will now headline at MSG on 11 November.
‘Jon Jones was training last night, got injured, he was wrestling, tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone off the bone. Eight months, gonna need surgery, he’s out,’ White said in a video posted on Tuesday night.
‘So the main event is Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira. The co-main event now is Sergei Pavlovich vs Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight championship.
‘Sergei Pavlovich the number two ranked heavyweight, 18-1 with 15 knockouts. He has an 83 per cent finish rate, his last seven wins all ended in the very first round.
‘He’s tied with Hall of Famer Don Frye fr the second longest knockout streak in UFC history. His last three wins have been over Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa and Curtis Blaydes. He’s aiming to become the fourth Russian champion in UFC history.
‘Tom Aspinall, he’s the number four ranked heavyweight, he’s 13-3 with 10 knockouts and three subs, that’s 100 per cent finish rate. Eight of his last nine wins have come in the first round, he has never seen the third round in his UFC career
Out of seven fights he’s won five performance bonuses.
‘This guy is a beast and he is looking to become the first British heavyweight champion in UFC history.
‘A combined 25 knockouts, 26 first round finishes, number two vs number four in the heavyweight division for the interim heavyweight title. UFC 295 is live November 11 from MSG.’
Aspinall has had a near-perfect run in the UFC since his debut in 2020, finishing six of his seven opponents and his only blemish coming in defeat via knee injury against Curtis Blaydes.
He took a year off and returned in style in July by destroying Marcin Tybura in the first round in London to earn this shot at interim gold.
Pavlovich lost on his UFC debut to Alistair Overeem back in 2018 but has since knocked out six opponents in the first round on the spin, most recently Blaydes in April.
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