White: Aspinall to serve as backup for Jones-Miocic at UFC 309

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will be the backup fighter for the UFC 309 title fight between champ Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, UFC CEO Dana White said Tuesday.

The promotion officially announced last weekend that Jones-Miocic will headline the Nov. 16 pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"Tom Aspinall is next in line for anything that happens after this fight," White told reporters, courtesy of MMA Junkie.

Jones and Miocic were originally set to square off at UFC 295 last November, but Jones withdrew from the fight after suffering a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery.

Aspinall went on to capture the interim title with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at that event. However, the UFC brass insisted afterward on waiting to rebook Jones-Miocic rather than moving on to a title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall.

Forced to wait for the logjam at the top of the division to sort itself out, Aspinall made a rare interim title defense at UFC 304 in July, finishing Curtis Blaydes in the first round to avenge a 2022 loss.

Earlier this week, Aspinall said in a video on his YouTube channel that he plans to attend UFC 309 and will be "ready to go" if Jones or Miocic pulls out.

Jones hasn't stepped into the Octagon since March 2023, when he won the vacant heavyweight belt by submitting Ciryl Gane. Former two-time champion Miocic last competed in a March 2021 title loss to Francis Ngannou.

Last weekend, Jones, 37, said he'll "more than likely" retire after the Miocic fight.