Dana White definitively answers whether Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic will still take place following Tom Aspinall’s KO win
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic were originally scheduled to headline UFC 295, which took place this weekend.
But several weeks before fight night, 'Bones' suffered a torn pectoral muscle that required him to get surgery and ruled him out of their undisputed heavyweight title fight. Sergei Pavlovich, who was the official back-up fighter for Jones vs. Miocic, was then matched up with fellow surging heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall for the interim title.
The Brit accepted the bout on short notice, and his risk paid off in full after he knocked Pavlovich out in Round 1 to become the interim heavyweight champion. Following Aspinall's electric finish, fans took to the internet to share their concern for Jon Jones should he face the Brit in the future.
During UFC CEO Dana White's appearance at the post-fight press conference, he was asked if Jones vs. Stipe would still go ahead, given Aspinall's performance. White said this:
"No. You do [Jones vs. Miocic]. Those two both deserve that fight, that's the fight they want. What I love is that Jon Jones, as soon as he heard he was injured and knew how bad it was, he went right to LA and got the surgery..."
Catch Dana White's comments below from 1:05:
Jon Jones sends Tom Aspinall a message following UFC 295 win over Sergei Pavlovich
Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich faced off in the co-main event of UFC 295 this weekend to determine the interim heavyweight champion. The pay-per-view card was originally headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, with 'Bones' being forced to withdraw from the clash due to a severe injury several weeks ago.
Jones is expected to be out for as long as eight months, and despite currently holding the heavyweight title, he did not vacate the belt.
Given where 'Bones' is in his career, it is possible that his clash with Miocic could be the last of his career. He likely wanted to keep hold of the title for that reason, given that champions earn pay-per-view points when they fight, whilst non-champions almost never do.
Jon Jones will face Stipe Miocic upon his return to action, according to Dana White, which likely rules out a potential clash against Tom Aspinall down the line. But following the Brit's epic victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, 'Bones' took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote this:
"Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!"
See the post below: