Former UFC title challenger calls out Dana White's "odd take" on Tom Aspinall: "Who else do you want him to fight?"
Retired MMA fighter and former UFC title challenger Megan Anderson has seemingly taken issue with Dana White's thoughts on a potential title unification fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. In a recent interview with veteran journalist Kevin Iole, UFC boss Dana White downplayed a potential fight between Aspinall and Jones.
White said:
"What [Tom Aspinall] did to Curtis Blaydes, the way that he did it, and how fast he did it, there is no doubt... This guy is a scary dude and he looks like the future of the heavyweight division, right? But at the same time, he is working his way up. He is climbing up the ladder and everybody is like, 'He deserves this, he deserves that.' He doesn't deserve anything!"
Check out Dana White's comments below (9:15):
The video clip from White's interview was re-posted by @MMACHICK_ on X. Former UFC women's featherweight contender Megan Anderson reacted to the post, saying:
"'He doesn't deserve anything" and "still working his way up'... Like, who else do you want him to fight?! Why is he defending an Interim title if he's 'still working his way up'... This is such an odd take."
Dana White thinks the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic must "hand the torch off" to Tom Aspinall
Jon Jones' lack of interest in the Tom Aspinall fight has created a lot of problems at the top of the heavyweight division. Many believe that Jones might call it a career after a potential win over Miocic, which would mean that an Aspinall-Jones bout, which many fans are clamoring for, will never come to fruition.
Continuing further in the aforementioned interview with Kevin Iole, Dana White asserted that the winner of Jones vs. Miocic owes a fight to Aspinall:
"[Tom Aspinall] looks great and he looks like he is going to be the guy. [Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones] deserve to fight each other. Whoever wins that fight, I think that they owe it to [Tom] Aspinall, to fight him and give him the opportunity that they've been given."
He added:
"When you look at Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, they beat all the guys, right? And you're either going to be the guy that cements the legacy forever OR you're going to hand the torch off, the way the torch was handed over to you guys."
The date of Jon Jones' return is not been announced yet. However, he has expressed his desire to make a comeback to the octagon towards the end of 2024.