Dana White seems to have been blissfully unaware of the ongoing
social media drama surrounding Jon Jones and
Tom
Aspinall.
Advertisement
While that — especially Jones’ comments — may paint a bleak picture
of the likelihood of a heavyweight title unification bout, the
UFC CEO remains resolute in his stance that Jones vs. Aspinall
will happen.
During the UFC 316
post-fight press conference, White revealed an additional piece of
information that hadn’t previously been made public: At some point,
Jones verbally agreed to the bout.
“I’ve been saying it since the beginning: Jon Jones agreed to do
the fight. Jon Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal.
Jon agreed to fight Tom, yes,” White said.
“You guys have heard me for the last however long, I guarantee this
fight is going to happen. This fight’s going to happen. You guys
told me the crazy shit that’s going on Instagram, and all these
other places, but yes, I’ve been saying Jon is going to fight
Tom.”
The latest twist in the saga saw Jones express renewed interest in
a fight against former UFC heavyweight king and current PFL star
Francis
Ngannou. White quickly shut that notion down, adding that an
Ngannou return to the Octagon was “probably not” happening.
Jones has also repeatedly hinted at retirement during his
increasingly frequent social media posts. White admitted that if
that is indeed the case, there isn’t much he can do. However, he
does expect to have talks with “Bones” in the coming days.
“I haven’t been keeping up with the gossip,” White said. “[Jones
is] either back today or came back yesterday or whenever. He was in
Thailand. He’s home. We’ll be home tonight and 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. 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 s—t, I didn’t realize that.”
As it currently stands, Jones vs. Aspinall would likely be the
biggest fight the UFC could make in 2025, so perhaps that’s why
there’s a frenzy surrounding every comment either heavyweight
makes. For now, White says there’s nothing concrete to indicate
that Jones is stepping away and passing on the matchup.
“Unless you hear it come from here or we put out a press release,
don’t believe any of this bulls—t,” White said. “Unless we come out
and say something, it’s all bulls—t. I just don’t get sucked into
that stuff anymore. I don’t even care. I don’t even listen to it
and most of the time, the s—t that I hear, I hear from you guys
when I come to things like this.
“Otherwise, I don’t care and I don’t pay attention to any of that
stuff. But yes, Jon agreed to fight Tom, fact.”