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Din Thomas predicts UFC 317 during International Fight Week will be headlined by a matchup no one is talking about.
One of the promotion’s annual cornerstone events is exactly 60 days away, and is still without a headliner. UFC CEO Dana White recently ruled out Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title for that date, and UFC analyst Thomas thinks the June 28 card at T-Mobile Arena will now feature Tom Aspinall in the main event – but not against Jon Jones.
“I’m thinking you have to go Tom Aspinall,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “How do you not go with the heavyweight champion of the world? He wants to fight this summer. I’m thinking you have to go Tom Aspinall somewhere. Now whether that’s Jon Jones, Ciryl Gane, Derrick Lewis – I don’t know, but it’s got to be Tom Aspinall for International Fight Week.
“Tom’s going to have to defend (the interim belt). There’s no way Jon Jones accepts that fight (for UFC 317). He says he needs more time to prepare. It’s not like he didn’t know about this for the last two years. … The more and more time that passes, the more and more I think Jon is just pulling us along and may not ever take this fight.”
Thomas said he’s “not hating” on Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC), but his optimism is slipping away despite White stating just this past Saturday at the UFC on ESPN 66 post-fight press conference that he was still “super confident” it will come to fruition.
Whether the heavyweight title unifier ultimately materializes remains to be seen. However, Thomas isn’t expecting it next. He thinks the UFC’s fleeting search for an adequate headliner will lead to a phone call to Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC).
“If I had to put my money on it, I think they convince Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane,” Thomas said. “We’re two months out (from UFC 317), and I think they’ll throw a number. Tom wants to fight and he’ll be like, ‘All right, I’ll fight.’ Then they’ll throw a number at Ciryl Gane. It won’t be ideal for him, but they’ll throw a number he can’t refuse and he’ll have to take it, and I think it makes more sense that way.”
In addition to getting back in the cage and the payday that comes with it, Thomas sees upside to Aspinall, 32, fighting again in relation to potentially luring Jones, 37, to face him.
“Jon is a chess player,” Thomas said. “He’s trying to collect as much information on Tom Aspinall as possible. We haven’t really seen him in a lot of tough spots, we don’t know how he’s going to respond to that. I think Jon is probably waiting on that.”
To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn in the video above.
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