The UFC’s 30th anniversary event took a devastating hit on Saturday when it was announced Jon Jones had suffered a serious injury that will remove him from his heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) sustained a torn pectoral muscle in training less than three weeks from the event, forcing him out of the Nov. 11 contest vs. Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at Madison Square Garden in New York. As a result, an interim belt will be introduced as Sergei Pavlovich (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will take on Tom Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC).
The stunning turn of events yielded a plethora of reactions from the MMA community, and you can check out the top social media posts on the situation below.
Dana White
MMA Junkie
Dana White hit us with a LATE-NIGHT BOMBSHELL, announcing that Jon Jones has suffered a torn pectoral muscle and is OUT of #UFC295. As a result, an interim heavyweight title fight is set between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall. 😮
Full story: https://t.co/84n0kSjPbG pic.twitter.com/M7DsCaDBT4
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 25, 2023
Morning Kombat
Imagine paying the price of those #UFC295 tickets and finding out Jon Jones is off the card…
— Morning Kombat (@morningkombat) October 25, 2023
Tom Aspinall
LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOM ASPINALL 🔥
🎥 @AspinallMMA#UFC295 pic.twitter.com/DhxJMKAjFl
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) October 25, 2023
Marc Raimondi
The UFC's hope is to still book Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic on a big card in 2024 once Jones returns from injury, sources told ESPN.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 25, 2023
Nolan King
With Jon Jones out, here's the #UFC295 bout order:
Prochazka vs Pereira
Pavlovich vs Aspinall
Andrade vs Dern
Frevola vs Saint Denis
Lopes vs SabatiniSchnell vs Erceg
Godinez vs Ricci
Aliev vs Rebecki
Borshchev vs. Sadykhov
Gordon vs Madsen
Castaneda vs Kang
Boras vs Van… https://t.co/pHmurhoqCR— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 25, 2023
Alexander Volkanovski
I volunteer as tribute 🙋♂️@danawhite @ufc 🤣 pic.twitter.com/hXHa6BotWw
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) October 25, 2023
Alexander Volkanovski
Obviously wish @JonnyBones all the best in recovery
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) October 25, 2023
Max Holloway
Damn more craziness https://t.co/BM7hQ30z8x
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 25, 2023
Eric Nicksick
Any word why Stipe wasn’t included in the interim vs one of the other two??
— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) October 25, 2023
BJ Penn
Wishing you a speedy recovery champ @JonnyBones 🙏
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) October 25, 2023
Tom Lawlor
Jon Jones down!
Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka for the cursed UFC LHW title is your new #UFC295 main event.
Aspinal vs Pavlovich for the interim HW belt.
You MAYBE, heard it here first.
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor トム・ローラー (@FilthyTomLawlor) October 25, 2023
UFC Europe
The wait is finally over… #UFC295 🏆 https://t.co/ZujlbNRsRJ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 25, 2023
Oscar Willis
Tom Aspinall: "I'm fighting the most dangerous guy in the UFC on two weeks notice, but I’m willing to put it all on the line. This is my absolute dream and I’m fucking doing a Bisping." pic.twitter.com/MY2VOc00MB
— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) October 25, 2023
Nick Baldwin
Before tonight, Jon Jones hadn’t pulled out of a fight due to injury since a scheduled UFC 178 bout vs. Daniel Cormier in August 2014. Crazy.
— Nick Baldwin (@NickBaldwinMMA) October 25, 2023
Ant Evans
You know you've finally become a grown-up when you feel
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich is the better fight anyways.— Ant Evans (@AntEvansMMA) October 25, 2023
Jon Jones
Bones pulls out and my timeline gets hosed. https://t.co/TBVRkgkGaI
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) October 25, 2023
