UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones seemingly enjoyed Dana White’s stance on the petition calling for him to be stripped.
Ever since defending the heavyweight belt against the now-retired Stipe Miocic in late 2024, Jones has dismissed a fight against Tom Aspinall. That’s despite the British fighter holding the division’s interim title since November 2023 and defending it successfully.
Jones’ avoidance of a unification fight has birthed anger and frustration in the MMA community, even leading to a viral fan petition with over 188,000 signatures calling for the UFC to strip ‘Bones’ of his title.
White finally addressed the Jones petition during the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, and his comments likely weren’t what the petition’s creator was hoping to hear.
“Every human on Earth was DM’ing it (the petition) to me,” White said. “How many fans are there worldwide now, what’s the number?
“Like 400 million and 130,000 people want to see him stripped. It’s kind of f—— silly.”
Jon Jones enjoyed Dana White playing down viral fan petition
In the months since Jones’ knockout win over Miocic, which marks his sole defense in the two years he’s held the heavyweight belt, ‘Bones’ has remained active on social media.
The Rochester native hasn’t shied away from engaging with fans who are critical of his stance and potential retirement, frequently posting shots at both his detractors and Aspinall.
Following on from one of those tweetstorms a few days ago, Jones reappeared on X with a short reaction to White’s stance on the widely supported petition.
The Rochester native went one further than White’s estimation of the UFC’s global fanbase, instead comparing the number of signatures with Earth’s overall population.
“200,000/8,000,000,000,” Jones wrote.
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Dana White still didn’t rule out Jon Jones fighting Tom Aspinall
The latest updates in the heavyweight title saga have not been positive for those still hoping that Jones and Aspinall will share the Octagon.
After Jones’ latest string of social media rants included further hints at retirement, the interim titleholder came out and insisted he is far from joking when saying ‘Bones’ has made up his mind.
Despite that, though, White still didn’t rule out the matchup coming to fruition during his UFC 316 presser. And the UFC CEO even shocked fans by claiming ‘Bones’ has already agreed to the bout.
He did, however, appear surprised to hear of Jones’ claim that he’d have no issue dropping the heavyweight title and heading off into the sunset.
For the time being, the heavyweight division will continue to be stalled by the presence of two titles and two champions, with no fight between them in sight.