Dana White 'can't risk' Jon Jones being involved in UFC's potential White House event
Several big-named fighters have proclaimed their desires to be part of the event, including the recently retired all-time great Jon Jones. The ongoing saga between Jones and the previously hostaged heavyweight title ended with Jones' surprise retirement two weeks ago at UFC Baku's post-fight press conference. However, Jones has since claimed he's already enrolled back in the UFC's drug-testing pool and is ready and willing to fight at the White House event.
Thanks to his checkered past outside the Octagon — Jones is currently facing a new criminal charge among a long line of many — the former two-division champion has proven to be unreliable at times on the UFC's biggest platforms. That's why White isn't sold on the idea of Jones being a part of the action.
"I can't risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong, especially the White House," White said of Jones at UFC 318's post-fight press conference.
UFC's potential White House trip has remained a fixture of any public conversation White is a part of since the news broke. While it may be too soon to imagine what the fight lineup could actually look like, White knows he'll have to make preparations far earlier than usual because of the event's unique challenge.
That being said, he's adamant the Las Vegas Sphere is still more difficult to set up for a fight night, as the UFC did with its Emmy award-winning show this past October at UFC 306.
"That fight's a year away, so I'm not even thinking about anything right now," White said. "The landscape will change so much by next Fourth of July. Who knows what's going to happen? Who knows what's going to be on the card or what the main event will be, or who holds all the titles? Everything could be completely different. It's not even worth thinking about right now.
"I have other problems. I'm dealing with the logistics and all the things on figuring out how to make this thing happen. How do we want to do it? I'm going to fly out there in about 10 days, and we'll have all the renderings done, sit down with [Trump] and go through the renderings, and see what he wants to do and doesn't want to do.
"The difference with the White House is I don't think they've ever had anything very heavy out on the lawn, and the Octagon alone weighs 20,000 pounds."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Royce Lewis, Christian Vazquez each drive in 3 runs as Twins beat Dodgers 10-7
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Royce Lewis and Christian Vazquez each drove in three runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-7 on Tuesday night. Lewis, a native of nearby Orange County, Calif., had a runs-scoring fielder's choice in the second inning, a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, and a run-scoring grounder in the seventh that brought in two more runs on pitcher Edgardo Henriquez's throwing error. Reliever Brock Stewart (2-1) pitched a scoreless fifth inning to earn the win. Andy Pages hit a three-run home run and Shohei Ohtani had a two-run shot for the Dodgers, who managed to end a six-game home losing streak Monday but have now dropped 11 of their past 14 overall since July 4. It is the first time Ohtani has hit a home run in four consecutive games. Dodgers All-Star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up three runs — one earned — and five hits in five innings. Ben Casparius (7-4) was charged with three runs without recording an out in the sixth. The Twins took a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning with their second of three three-run innings as Lewis walked with the bases loaded, Harrison Bader had an RBI ground out and Vazquez delivered a run-scoring single. Hyeseong Kim brought the Dodgers to 6-5 with a two-run single in the sixth. The Twins responded with a three-run seventh when Lewis' comebacker scored Carlos Correa then brought in Ty France and Matt Walner when Henriquez threw past first base and into right field. France, from nearby West Covina, had an RBI double in the ninth. Key moment One night after losing left-handed reliever Tanner Scott to an elbow injury, the Dodgers saw Casparius depart with a right calf cramp immediately after he allowed Lewis' bases-loaded walk in the sixth. Casparius and Will Klein combined for six walks. Key stat The Twins' victory was only their third against the Dodgers since 2017, leaving them 3-12 against Los Angeles in the nine-year stretch. They are 3-13 all-time at Dodger Stadium, including postseason games. Up next Twins RHP Chris Paddack (3-9, 5.14 ERA) goes against Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.10) on Wednesday. ___ AP MLB:
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump announces US-Japan trade deal
President Donald Trump announced a long-awaited trade agreement with Japan on Tuesday night, a framework between the allies and major trading partners that appeared elusive just weeks ago. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout breaks down what's in the deal.
CBS News
13 minutes ago
- CBS News
Royce Lewis, Christian Vazquez each drive in 3 runs as Twins beat Dodgers 10-7
Royce Lewis and Christian Vazquez each drove in three runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-7 on Tuesday night. Lewis, a native of nearby Orange County, Calif., had a runs-scoring fielder's choice in the second inning, a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, and a run-scoring grounder in the seventh that brought in two more runs on pitcher Edgardo Henriquez's throwing error. Reliever Brock Stewart (2-1) pitched a scoreless fifth inning to earn the win. Andy Pages hit a three-run home run and Shohei Ohtani had a two-run shot for the Dodgers, who managed to end a six-game home losing streak Monday but have now dropped 11 of their past 14 overall since July 4. It is the first time Ohtani has hit a home run in four consecutive games. Dodgers All-Star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up three runs — one earned — and five hits in five innings. Ben Casparius (7-4) was charged with three runs without recording an out in the sixth. The Twins took a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning with their second of three three-run innings as Lewis walked with the bases loaded, Harrison Bader had an RBI ground out and Vazquez delivered a run-scoring single. Hyeseong Kim brought the Dodgers to 6-5 with a two-run single in the sixth. The Twins responded with a three-run seventh when Lewis' comebacker scored Carlos Correa then brought in Ty France and Matt Walner when Henriquez threw past first base and into right field. France, from nearby West Covina, had an RBI double in the ninth. One night after losing left-handed reliever Tanner Scott to an elbow injury, the Dodgers saw Casparius depart with a right calf cramp immediately after he allowed Lewis' bases-loaded walk in the sixth. Casparius and Will Klein combined for six walks. The Twins' victory was only their third against the Dodgers since 2017, leaving them 3-12 against Los Angeles in the nine-year stretch. They are 3-13 all-time at Dodger Stadium, including postseason games. Twins RHP Chris Paddack (3-9, 5.14 ERA) goes against Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.10) on Wednesday.
