We’re now less than 24 hours away from the UFC 309 main event showdown between light heavyweight GOAT Jon ‘Bones’ Jones and former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Yet as the UFC heavyweight title fight looms large over the horizon, there remains a very real possibility that the winner of tomorrow night’s main event could decide to walk away on top – so what would then happen with interim champion Tom Aspinall?
Dana White confirms what would happen should Jon Jones retire at UFC 309
Whilst Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic might be the headlining attraction of UFC 309, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been the talk of the town all throughout fight week.
Not only did ‘Bones’ walk out of an interview due to a reporter being too ‘close’ with the British juggernaut, but Aspinall himself would claim that he’d been ‘blacklisted’ from attending key events just in case the two ran into each other.
Earlier today, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed via Kevin Iole that should Jon Jones beat Miocic in tomorrow night’s main event but decide to retire from the sport rather than face Aspinall, the Briton will be promoted to undisputed champion.
“Obviously, a guy like Jon Jones has had a career that if he wants something, we could do it… But you can’t just want to do a ‘fun fight’ and not fight the interim heavyweight champion – [he’s] the guy who’s next.
“Because if Jon Jones retires on Saturday, then Tom Aspinall would be the heavyweight champion [of the UFC].”
White would cite historical reasons as to why Jones should face Aspinall next, rather than sticking around in order to secure ‘fun fights’ such as against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
“Opportunities were given to Jon Jones when he was 23, youngest heavyweight champion of all time; now as he sits where he sits, it’s his obligation to give it [back] to the younger guys, to give him that opportunity.”
That being said, if Jones was able to get through both Miocic and Aspinall, White would jump at the opportunity to put ‘Bones’ and ‘Poatan’ in the octagon together: “If he beats Tom Aspinall, then yes, I would do the Alex Pereira fight.”
Dana White says it’s ‘undeniable’ that Jon Jones would be P4P king with victory at UFC 309
It’s no secret that Dana White believes with every fiber of his being that Jon Jones is and has always been the best pound-for-pound fighter in history, and the UFC CEO was keen to double down on that as he spoke with Iole.
“Not if he wins, when you think about it – this dude has never lost a fight in 16 years in Mixed Martial Arts, what is there [left] to say? He’s beaten all the greats, all the all-time greats… He is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world [if he wins at UFC 309], it’s undeniable, it’s ridiculous.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Dana White ‘glazing’ session if he didn’t also take aim at Francis Ngannou, who exited the UFC as the one true lineal heavyweight champion.
“I’m telling you right now, Francis left and went to the goofy PFL, where he doesn’t have to f***** fight anybody, so he didn’t have to fight f***** Jon Jones.”
UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic goes down live from Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 16.
- UFC 309: Jon Jones confuses Stipe Miocic with six-word threat in first face-off after refusing hand shake