Dana White shares personal opinion on Jon Jones potentially facing Tom Aspinall after Stipe Miocic fight: "I think he does it"
Dana White recently offered his perspective on the likelihood of Jon Jones fighting Tom Aspinall following his potential bout with Stipe Miocic. 'Bones' has frequently hinted at retirement after defending his UFC heavyweight title against Miocic later this year and downplayed interim champion Aspinall's call for a title unification bout.
During the 'DWCS' post-fight press conference on Tuesday, the UFC CEO stated that while Jones has discussed retirement, he believes that if the prospect of a fight with Aspinall becomes significant, 'Bones' would step up and take the fight:
"Yeah, you know, Jon is one of those challenging guys to deal with, and I think that he's talking about retiring, but will he if the Aspinall thing is really flying out there? I personally think Jon challenges himself and takes the fight, and I think he does it."
Check out Dana White's comments below (8:16):
Despite growing calls from the MMA community to cancel Miocic’s upcoming title shot against Jones, White has firmly reaffirmed that the fight is still happening. He has consistently defended his decision to reschedule the bout, which was initially slated for UFC 295 in November 2023 but had to be postponed due to Jones suffering a significant pectoral injury.
Jones has previously emphasized that facing a heavyweight legend like Miocic carries more weight for his achievements. The highly anticipated matchup is now expected to take place at UFC 309, scheduled for Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Jon Jones believes turning down Tom Aspinall won’t tarnish his legacy
Jon Jones recently pushed back against naysayers who argue that his legacy will be diminished if he chooses not to face Tom Aspinall in a title unification bout.
Since Aspinall’s knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, he has been actively pushing for a fight against Jones, with a majority of fans backing the idea. Despite this, Jones has consistently downplayed the possibility, indicating a clear preference for rescheduling his bout with Stipe Miocic.
Jones recently took to X, where he shared a series of posts explaining why he believes that fighting Aspinall isn't a significant milestone for his career. He wrote in one of his many posts:
"The beautiful thing about being my position is I’m not defined by one fight. Most of you grew up watching me win."
'Bones' added:
"Haha, man, you guys have been really begging me lately. Is the heavyweight division really that boring without me?"
Check out Jon Jones' posts below: