Jon Jones has been forced to withdraw from UFC 295 next month after suffering a serious pectoral muscle injury during training. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the heavyweight champion will require surgery and is expected to be sidelined for eight months.
Jones was scheduled to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden on 11 November. However, with Jones out, the light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira will now headline the event.
In place of the original main event, a new co-main event has been announced: Tom Aspinall of Britain will face Russia's Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight championship. White described both fighters as 'beasts' with impressive records.
Aspinall, ranked number four in the heavyweight division, boasts a 13-3 record with a 100 per cent finish rate. He has won five performance bonuses in seven UFC fights and has never seen the third round in the promotion. Pavlovich, ranked number two, is 18-1 with 15 knockouts and has won his last seven fights all in the first round.
The interim title fight promises to be a clash of heavy hitters, with a combined 25 knockouts and 26 first-round finishes between them. Aspinall aims to become the first British heavyweight champion in UFC history, while Pavlovich seeks to become the fourth Russian champion.
