There appears to be a tentative timeline in place for Jon Jones’
next fight.
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During an appearance on “The Jim Rome Show” on Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White
hinted that Jones’ return to the Octagon might be sooner than most
expected.
“The plan is to fight Jon this summer,” White said. “Obviously,
when, where and all that stuff is being determined. My goal this
year is to make that fight [with] Aspinall.”
Shortly after Jones defended his title at UFC 309
in November, White
guaranteed that he would eventually put together a championship
unification bout between “Bones” and Aspinall. However, Aspinall
recently claimed that while both he and the UFC are on board for
the fight, Jones is the one
holding up negotiations. With that being said, Jones has made
it clear that it would take a lucrative offer for him to accept a
fight against the British heavyweight.
White also hinted that Saturday’s UFC 313
headliner could have an effect on the heavyweight title picture
down the road — if Alex
Pereira defeats Magomed
Ankalaev.
“If he rips through Ankalaev the way he has everybody else — the
other thing about Pereira that everybody loves is, this guy wants
to go up to heavyweight and fight at heavyweight, too,” White said.
“I’m the one that’s actually holding him back on that.”
It’s no secret that Jones has been far more enthusiastic about a
potential meeting with Pereira than he is about fighting Aspinall.
Still, it seems like the UFC is intent on booking Jones vs.
Aspinall first.
“He wants to [fight Jon Jones],” White said about Pereira. “Let’s
see how this fight [at UFC 313] plays out, if he wins, how he wins,
all that kind of stuff. I think that the fight that everybody wants
to see right now is Jones and Aspinall, and then there’s no doubt
that Pereira could fight the winner.”