MMA News Today: Jon Jones Reacts To 'Number One Contender' Fight Between Tom Aspinall & Curtis Blaydes, Ilia Topuria's Brother Has Date Set For UFC Debut, & More

Welcome to MMA News Today , a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For May 17, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

• Jones provides his take on the interim title defense
• Another Topuria is set to appear inside the Octagon
• Smith says Chimaev is a problem for anyone early on

Jon Jones Downplays Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes 2, Gives His Thoughts On The Match-Up

A heavyweight title defense is locked in but doesn't feature the full title, the one that belongs to Jon Jones.

Tom Aspinall is set to join the small club of interim champions that will defend their title when he faces Curtis Blaydes in a rematch.

Serving as the co-main event for UFC 304 in Manchester on July 27 , it was only a matter of time before Jones weighed in with his thoughts on the fight.

"Bones" downplayed the fight in a post on social media before going on to talk about how he sees it playing out.

"Curtis versus Tom for the official number one contender spot!"

"I wouldn’t be surprised if Curtis won, i’ve seen scenarios like this time and time again. Dude prematurely drinking his own Kool-Aid ends up with a huge piece of humble pie. I mean If Sergei can touch Tom that easy, I’m sure Curtis can too. When Curtis decides to go, he’s a lot faster than people realize, and he hits hard. A few well timed shots and that strong top game, it could be a long night for old Tommy boy. Either way, I’ll be watching, excited to have some additional footage."

Aleksandre Topuria, The Older Brother Of Ilia Topuria, Gets Date For UFC Debut

The older brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, Aleksandre Topuria has got a date for his UFC debut.

The 28-year-old comes into the promotion with a record of 5-1, currently riding a three-fight win streak with consecutive first-round finishes.

He is set to make the walk to the Octagon on July 20 in what is set to be a Fight Night event hosted at the UFC Apex.

The featherweight champion confirmed that his sibling had signed to the promotion several months ago with a debut coming soon.

The news was first reported by KOImeneroMMA on X.

Anthony Smith Says That Khamzat Chimaev Is A Threat To Anyone In The World In The First Round

Anyone who has seen Khamzat Chimaev fight before knows that he is incredibly dangerous in the first round.

"Borz" has finished four of his seven wins in the opening round with his aggressive style of chain wrestling and submissions .

However, there have been some weaknesses exposed when fighters were able to take him into deeper waters and that could well be the case next time out.

On a recent episode of the Believe You Me Podcast , Anthony Smith says he has concerns about how Chimaev will fare over five rounds against Robert Whittaker.

He also said that for those first five minutes, he believes Chimaev is a serious problem for anyone in the world, regardless of weight class.

"I'm a real big believer in Khamzat, I really am, I think the guy's incredible but if we're just being critical, first round, I think Khamzat can beat anybody across any weight class, I don't give a s*** who it is. Anybody in the world he can beat in the first round. We start getting into the second, third, fourth, fifth... the Gilbert Burns fight is kind of a perfect example. If that fight goes another two rounds..."

Read more on the story here .

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