Ex-UFC star questions Dana White playing along with Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight: "Maybe Jon has some dirt on Dana"
Dana White's insistence on booking Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for 'Bones' undisputed UFC heavyweight title has puzzled retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren. The formerly undefeated wrestler had a recent sitdown with former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier about the subject.
They touched on the topic on the latest episode of Funky & The Champ. Given the lack of demand for a Jones vs. Miocic matchup, with most fans wanting 'Bones' to face either Tom Aspinall or Alex Pereira, 'Funky' openly wondered what could be compelling White to follow through with it. He said:
"I almost feel like maybe Jon [Jones] has some dirt on Dana [White] or something, because Dana generally wouldn't put up with this type of behavior. He would say, and this is what the UFC was founded on, where boxing wasn't, is 'We want the best guys to fight. We want to see who the actual best guy is.' We don't want to actually, you know, waste time with shenanigans. We don't want, you know, to pad records to go to 40-0. Don't do that. That's what boxing does."
Check out Ben Askren question Dana White's recent decision-making (17:16):
While Askren has a point, boxing has a long history of the sport's top fighters avoiding each other. This has continued to this day, with MMA having its own fair share of issues, including questionable title shots, where fighters on lengthy unbeaten streaks are cast aside in favor of less deserving fighters.
This appears to be increasing in frequency, with Colby Covington having fought Leon Edwards for UFC welterweight gold after beating the then 0-3 Jorge Masvidal, who was outside of the top 10 at the time. Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad kept extending his undefeated streak until he could no longer be denied.
Similarly, White recently claimed that Aspinall did not deserve to fight Jones, the undisputed heavyweight champion, despite being the interim heavyweight champion.
Dana White no longer seems interested in booking fights that fans demand
There is a clear surge in interest for a heavyweight division helmed by either Tom Aspinall or Alex Pereira. Unfortunately, Dana White doesn't seem to care, despite the Englishman's recent finishes over the top five heavyweights and defense of the division's interim throne. Here's what he said:
"Everybody's like, 'He deserves this and he deserves that,' and he doesn't deserve anything."
Check out Dana White's stunning statement to Kevin Iole (0:22):
He appears even less interested in 'Poatan' potentially making history by becoming the promotion's first three-division champion. Exactly why White is so adamantly against public demand as of late remains a complete unknown, but he has dug in his heels more and more, even lashing out at reporters at pressers.