Outside Source
Dana White seems to have been blissfully unaware of the ongoing social media drama surrounding Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
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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.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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