UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones could soon be dealing with a different version of the boss, according to one of his former rivals.
Jones, the heavyweight kingpin and a leading contender in the GOAT debate, remains on the sidelines without a date for a potential UFC return on the calendar.
That’s despite the presence of an interim titleholder in Tom Aspinall, who has joined ‘Bones’ in holding heavyweight gold for the past 18 months.
The wait for the pair to finally unify the belts has steadily built frustration in the fanbase, but Jones continues to dismiss the Aspinall fight.
For his part, Dana White insists Jones vs Aspinall will happen. But one legend of the promotion says the UFC CEO’s relaxed demeanor won’t hold for long.
- READ MORE: Jon Jones proves bitter rival Daniel Cormier’s theory on why he won’t fight Tom Aspinall correct
Chael Sonnen says Jon Jones’ trolling could bring out ‘angry Dana White’
During a recent episode of his Good Guy/Bad Guy show alongside Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen gave his latest assessment of the heavyweight title picture.
‘The American Gangster’ recalled his experience awakening the anger inside White, warning Jones that he won’t be far from doing the same should his trolling and apparent avoidance of Aspinall continue.
“Dana White, privately, does have a date and location. Privately, Dana White is going to work on bringing the fight to that date and location,” Sonnen said.
“As we get closer to that date and location, if Dana does not succeed in getting that fight closer, he’s going to start to get angry. That’s the one piece that these guys haven’t had to deal with yet; they have not had to deal with an angry Dana White.
“It’s not the same guy, and it’s not a guy that you want to say no to. I’ll leave it at that.”
- READ MORE: ‘What did Wonderboy do to the UFC?’…Fans slam choice of opponent for Stephen Thompson’s return
Jon Jones encourages more to sign the petition calling for the UFC to strip him
Suffice to say, Jones does not seem concerned.
The Rochester native continues to go about his business away from the Octagon, most recently hosting a record-breaking seminar in Phuket, Thailand — where Jones traveled for his now-canceled reality show filming with Nate Diaz.
In a post on social media, Jones sarcastically credited Aspinall for driving more UK fans to his doorstep with the “free promo,” and he went on to address the petition calling for him to be stripped of his UFC title.
“Just wrapped up the biggest seminar in Phuket history. Half the crowd flew in from the UK—how wild is that?! Massive shoutout to my guy Tom for all the free promo… couldn’t have done it without you.
“Seriously though, I’m beyond grateful for this brand new UK following. You guys showed up with so much love and energy, and I felt every bit of it. Let’s keep this momentum going—make sure to sign that petition today, we’re pushing 200k! How exciting,” Jones concluded.
The change.org petition has continued to gather steam, recently soaring past 150,000 signatures after just two weeks.