Dana White Says Jon Jones Has Agreed To Fight Tom Aspinall
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: UFC CEO Dana White holds a press conference after the UFC 313 event at ... More T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
According to UFC CEO Dana White, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has agreed to face interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Speaking at the UFC 316 pst-fight press conference, White seemed taken aback when he was asked about Jones's recent social media posts that he was ready and willing to vacate the UFC heavyweight title.
"He said he's ready to vacate the belt? (Expletive) crazy," White said. "I've been busy. I haven't been keeping up with the gossip. He's either back today or came back yesterday or whenever. He was in Thailand. He's home. We'll be home tonight. Tuesday, we'll figure this out."
"Tom Aspinall's the guy. He's the guy. Listen, if [Jones] wants to retire and doesn't want to fight, nothing you can do,"added White. "I didn't want Khabib [Nurmagomedov] retire. I thought [Daniel] Cormier could have stayed it in longer. It's none of my business. I'll do what I can to make the fight if we can. If he's talking that crazy shit, I didn't realize that."
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against ... More Curtis Blaydes in the interim UFC heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones.
Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make.
That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024.
Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 14: Jon Jones reacts with UFC President Dana White onstage during the ... More UFC 309 press conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
"It's definitely the process with Jon Jones," White said of the ongoing negotiations between the UFC and Jones. "I've been going through this since the day he started this. It's definitely the process. Him and Anderson Silva, every time throughout the history of being in business with those guys when it comes time to get them fights, it's like dealing with artists. It's interesting.
"It's Aspinall's fight. We've been talking to this kid forever about it and it's his fight. Listen, you can't make people fight. If Jon doesn't want to fight, you can't make him fight. We can try to make him fight. We can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight but we'll figure it out."
"But yes, Jon agreed to fight Tom, fact," White added in closing.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall looks on during the ... More UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Last week, Aspinall seemed frustrated by how long it is taking to get a title unification bout booked, going so far as to declare that Jones has retired.
"Jon Jones is retired," Aspinall said. "I want to say God bless him moving forward in what he does with his life and career. We move on. I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers and get this division moving again.
"Those guys have been waiting around too long. The contenders are getting sick of it. Everybody's getting sick of it. Even the fans are getting sick of this stuff. So, Jon's retired and it's time that we move on.
"I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers, get this division moving again. Us guys have been waiting around too long. The guys, contenders are getting sick of it, everybody's getting sick of it, even the fans are getting sick of it. Jon's retired and it's time that we move on.'
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