Din Thomas predicts that UFC 317 during International Battle Week will be titled as a showdown that no one talks about.

One of the annual cornerstones of the promotion happens to be exactly 60 days, but there are still no headlines. UFC CEO Dana White recently ruled out Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev's middleweight title, while UFC analyst Thomas believes Thomas believes the card at T-Mobile Arena on June 28 will now feature Tom Aspinall in the main event, but not against Jon Jones.

"I think you have to go to Tom Aspinall," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "Why don't you go to the world heavyweight championship? He wants to fight this summer. I think you have to go somewhere Tom Aspinall.

"Tom will have to defend (temporary belt). Jon Jones will never accept this fight (for UFC 317). He said he needs more time to prepare. That's not to say he didn't know this in the last two years. 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Thomas said he "don't hate" Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC), but his optimism is still vanishing despite White's 66 post-war press conference last Saturday at the UFC.

Whether heavyweight title unification will eventually be realized remains to be seen. But Thomas didn't expect it next. He believes that the UFC's fleeting search for enough headlines would result in a call to Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC).

"If I had to put the money in it, I think they convinced Tom Aspinoer to fight Cyryl Gane," Thomas said. "We were two months old (from UFC 317), and I think they would throw a number. Tom wanted to fight and he would say, 'Okay, I'll fight.' Then, they would throw a number on Cyryl Gane, which wasn't ideal for him, but they would throw a number that he couldn't refuse, and he would have to accept it, and I think it makes more sense."

In addition to returning to the cage and the payday that comes with it, Thomas also sees the rise of Aspinall, 32, potentially attracting Jones to confront him with the 37-year-old 37-year-old.

"Jon is a chess player," Thomas said. "He tried to gather as much information as possible about Tom Aspinal. We didn't really see him in a lot of tough places and we didn't know how he would respond. I think Jon might be waiting for that."

To listen to Thomas for more information, make a full appearance on the "Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior journalist Mike Bohn in the video above.