Strip Jon Jones of his UFC heavyweight title NOW? Are you out of your mind?

I hate the stupid game that Jon Jones is playing.

I can't stand the way the UFC heavyweight champion is trolling interim champion Tom Aspinall, MMA fans everywhere who are desperate to see the two fight and even Dana White.

I hate that it's eight months since Jones got a gimme in his first title defense against an inactive 42-year-old Stipe Miocic and still hasn't committed to facing the only guy in the division who can beat him.

I hate all of it, and more.

And a lot of you do, too.

You're showing it on X.

It’s more of the same on Instagram: Fans are venting, mocking Jones and demanding answers.

And you've taken to virtually every other social media service imaginable to discuss it.

This fight is quickly becoming the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao of MMA, and that’s not meant as a compliment. Jones clearly is getting a kick out of making everyone guess and jump through hoops, but the sport deserves better than this.

If he doesn’t want to fight any more, if he feels he’s proven everything he needs to prove, that’s his right. He shouldn’t be — and can’t be — forced to fight if he doesn’t want to.

And if the UFC strips him, it won’t matter in the least to Jones. If he was stripped today, he’d laugh. Aspinall would be elevated to the full champion, and the moment that Jones said he wanted to come back, the UFC would make that bout instantly.

Jones essentially loses nothing by being stripped. The only thing he’d lose is the ability to keep the belt in the event of a draw. If he were stripped and they did fight, Aspinall would get that perk, not Jones.

I still believe he'll fight Aspinall in November in New York, but I believe less with each day that passes with no news and with Jones continuing to troll.

Bottom line, though: He’s either an active fighter or he’s not.

What I don't believe is that Jones should be stripped, as has been called for in a petition on Change.org that as of Thursday at noon Pacific time had over 147,000 signatures.

I don’t believe he should be stripped because it’s too soon.

It’s not uncommon for UFC champions to defend their belts once a year.

Now, if we get to November and Jones is playing the same game, strip him and let Aspinall, the division and, most of all, the fans move on.

Once again, let's dispense of the notion that Jones is afraid of Aspinall. You don't get to where Jones has gotten by being afraid. Yes, Aspinall's style is well-suited for Jones. He’s trained in jiu-jitsu since childhood and won’t be out of his depth on the ground. And at 6-5, he’s taller than Jones and has the punching power to hurt him badly if he lands.

Aspinall is a real threat, but it's laughable to suggest Jones won't take the fight because he's fearful. He may not take it because he feels he's done all there is to do. He clearly enjoys playing the puppeteer and getting Aspinall and the fan base into an uproar.

Afraid? Scared? Please. LOL.

You don't know a thing about fighting -- As Sgt. Schultz would say, you know nothing -- if that's your premise.

Jones isn’t going to bow to pressure, from the UFC, from Aspinall, or the public. He’ll make his position known on his timeline.

It’s been clear for a while that this bout only makes financial sense in a few key locales, like New York, Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

The UFC’s annual New York show has long looked like the landing spot for this match. A Jones-Aspinall fight in November at Madison Square Garden would be a guaranteed $20 million plus gate and would generate in excess of a million pay-per-views.

I believe the terms are already agreed upon; it’s now a matter of whether Jones says he wants to fight or chooses to retire.

If we get to October and there is no announcement, well, then the pressure needs to shift onto the UFC to act. Aspinall’s been idle since July 27, 2024, when he smoked Curtis Blaydes in a minute. It’s not right for him to have to put his career on hold while Jones goofs around.

This fanbase helped make him rich and famous, and he owes it to them to clarify his plans.

The UFC should have a zero tolerance policy, and if a date isn’t set by Nov. 16, the one-year anniversary of his defense against Miocic, strip him then.

No matter how clever an idea it was to petition the federal government to do something it legally can’t, asking for Jones to be stripped is inappropriate at this point because he defended it eight months ago. 

It sucks that Jones has taken things to this extreme, but there are zero grounds to strip him now.

Strip him in November if he’s still playing games. The rage and disgust are understandable, but Jones is breaking no rules by remaining silent or by trolling the very fans he says he loves.

You don’t have to like it. I hate it. But it’s the only fair way to handle it.