UFC CEO Dana White is prepared to move on from Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall.
Fans have clamored for a UFC heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall for almost two full years. After Aspinall earned the interim belt at UFC 295, Jones faced Stipe Miocic instead upon his return to the Octagon, defeating Miocic by TKO.
Since UFC 309 in November, Jones and Aspinall have been in talks with the UFC brass to make the title unification bout come to fruition. But Aspinall has appeared more eager to move forward with negotiations, as Jones has flip-flopped on potentially retiring over the last few weeks.
UFC CEO Dana White‘s patience is running thin to make Jones vs. Aspinall happen, amid several top contenders airing their disapproval of the uncertain heavyweight title picture.
Dana White reverses course on ‘relax’ declaration as he shares Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall fight deadline
White has repeatedly guaranteed UFC fans that the Jones vs. Aspinall fight would happen, despite several ominous social media messages from both top heavyweights. But Aspinall recently shared he has a date and location for a heavyweight return fight, against Jones or another top contender for the undisputed title.
Amid growing pressure to act, White drew a line in the sand surrounding the ongoing Jones vs. Aspinall fight talks in his most definitive update yet.
In a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White revealed his deadline for securing the Jones vs. Aspinall fight.
“We’ll see how this thing plays out over the next couple of weeks. If we can’t get this fight done, we’ll move on, quickly. We’ll have the answers in the next couple of weeks,” White said.
“Jon Jones has been an interesting human being to deal with since the day he got here. But I’ll say this about him: I wouldn’t be out here calling him the GOAT if Jon Jones didn’t want to fight people. He’s never said ‘I don’t like this fight for me, I don’t want to fight this guy’. Not one time.”
As of this writing, Jones nor Aspinall have publicly reacted to White’s comments. UFC 317 takes place in Las Vegas on June 28th, meaning an announcement regarding Jones, Aspinall, and the next heavyweight title fight could come before International Fight Week.
Jon Jones’s holdout made Tom Aspinall the UFC’s longest-reigning interim titleholder
Aspinall became the UFC’s longest-reigning interim titleholder earlier this year, and November will mark two years since his interim title knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall defended the interim heavyweight belt against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July.
UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja recently scolded Jones for stalling Aspinall’s career. Pantoja will take on Kai Kara-France in the UFC 317 co-main event later this month.
Since making the full-time move to heavyweight in 2020, Jones has fought just twice, including a vacant title win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. He vacated the light heavyweight championship belt after defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.