Earlier this week, Turki Alalshikh made headlines when he teased that he could send Dana White ‘to the moon’ with an offer to make the super-fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.
However, the UFC CEO does not appear to be on board with Turki Alalshikh’s super-fight suggestion; instead, he’s focused on making the undisputed showdown with interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
Dana White rejects Turki Alalshikh’s offer to ‘send him to the moon’ in 2025
Turki Alalshikh might be credited with re-defining this modern era of super-fights in the boxing ring, but the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority has been cautious about making such a move towards the octagon.
That was until earlier this week when Alalshikh told Ariel Helwani that he has ‘two options’ for PFL king Francis Ngannou – one in the squared circle, and the other involving UFC heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.
“I have on the table two options for Francis. One in MMA and one in boxing, I want to discuss with him… In MMA, you know, all the time my answer is all the time we want to do the biggest [fights]… [Yes it’s Jon Jones], we need to send Dana White to the moon.”
Both PFL CEO Peter Murray and Ngannou have stated that they’re open to making the fight, with ‘The Predator’ goading Jones on X by writing: “There’s only one fight, the right fight that will multiply your blessings. #NgannouVSJones.”
Unfortunately, whilst Ngannou, Alalshikh, and the PFL might be on board with such a super-fight, UFC CEO Dana White wants nothing to do with the enormous cross-promotion showdown.
In response to an Instagram post by ‘Nasharmma’ on Alalshikh’s tease, Dana White vehemently rejected the offer: “Absolutely NOT true. Jon [Jones] vs Tom [Aspinall].
Tom Aspinall is ‘confident’ the Jon Jones fight can be made in 2025
Whilst Jones has claimed that there is a ‘money figure’ that the UFC would need to match before he signs to fight Tom Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion remains confident that he’ll face ‘Bones’ in the New Year.
“I’m very confident that it’s going to happen,” Aspinall told Bloody Elbow last week.
“Obviously, a lot of things I’ve got to keep under wraps. I’ve had conversations with the higher-ups in the UFC and they are also very confident it’s going to happen… I don’t know from Jon’s side, but I know from my side and the UFC’s side it’s very likely.”
Aspinall also discussed what it was like to watch Jones knockout Stipe Miocic with a spinning back-kick to the body at UFC 309 last month.
“I was very impressed by him – the place where he kicked him, the position in the Octagon, was near enough arm’s length from where I was sitting.
“It was right next to me. It was right over my side of the Octagon, and it was brutal… Both guys are tired. To have one of them when you are already breathing heavy must’ve been horrendous.”