Dana White Gets a Lifeline to Settle Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall Dilemma as UFC HW Offers Alternative

Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall looks like it’s going nowhere. There was a little period of time where things were looking up. Dana White was saying that the “fight was done but its not done.” Moreover, Tom Aspinall later promised “big news” to Ariel Helwani in March, which made fans think that the heavyweight unification title bout between Jones, the undisputed champion, and Aspinall, the interim champ, was close to being finalized.

Alas, that turned out not to be the case. Tom Aspinall and his father have come out and slammed the UFC for its “stupid” decision to let ‘Bones’ drag his feet over their super-fight for the past six months. And with reports suggesting that the UFC has even agreed to pay Jones the “f–k you money” he wanted to fight Aspinall, most fans feel that Jones just doesn’t want to fight Aspinall since the Englishman is just too dangerous.

But fear not, another UFC heavyweight star—Jailton Almeida—has tossed his name into the hat and offered Dana White a lifeline to break the deadlock at the top of the heavyweight division. “One more time, if Jones dont fight Tom, As always, im 100% in. Put me inside that cage against the champion, i’m the only one who offers [a] dangerous [matchup] for him. Forget about Gane or Volkov, both are ducking me, im fresh and hungry for this more than anyone,” ‘Malhadinho’ wrote on X.

Almeida is ranked #6 in the division at the moment, and has a serious case to fight for the title. He does, after all, have nine wins in his UFC record, except for a second-round stoppage loss to Curtis ‘Razor’ Blaydes in March 2024. Not to mention, like Aspinall, Almeida is also an exciting, concussive puncher who likes to end fights early. All but one of ‘Malhadinho’s UFC fights have ended either in the first or the second round.

One more time, if Jones dont fight Tom, As always, im 100% in. Put me inside that cage against the champion, i’m the only one who offers dangerous for him. Forget about Gane or Volkov, both are ducking me, im fresh and hungry for this more than anyone
Poster: @luis_coutinho pic.twitter.com/Nw0QnLZPe8

— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) May 13, 2025

So yeah, while Aspinall-Almeida won’t be anywhere near the magnitude of Jones-Aspinall, fans will probably come around to it. However, there is just one problem, or rather two, which stop the Brazilian from getting the title shot next.

Could Jailton Almeida leapfrog Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov to fight Tom Aspinall next?

The guy’s Jailton Almeida, named in his post on X—the #2 ranked Ciryl Gane and #3 Alexander Volkov—are four and three spots ahead of him in the division respectively. One of them is much more likely to fight for the title next if Jones refuses to fight Aspinall. While Gane is ranked higher, he has fought for the title twice in the past three years, and come up short each time.

Not to mention ‘Bon Gamin’ fought Volkov last year, and while he won that fight via decision, most feel ‘Drago’ was robbed by the judges. But if not Gane, then who? Volkov did lose his last fight and thus almost definitely won’t get to fight for the title. So the UFC may have no choice but to match up Gane with Aspinall for the undisputed crown should Jones vacate or be stripped.

Or maybe, the UFC could get an official #1 contender clash between Gane and Almeida, or Volkov and Almeida to decide the next title challenger. After all, Aspinall has already beaten #4 Sergei Pavlovich and #5 Curtis Blaydes in his last two fights. So the next person up (except for Gane and Volkov) does seem to be Almeida.

While the chances of him getting a #1 contender’s clash are slim and getting to fight for the title next even slimmer, ‘Malhadinho’ has tossed his name in the hat, which cannot hurt. You can’t fault a guy for trying. What do you think about Almeida wanting to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title next?

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