Dana White has said that Jon Jones’ comments about vacating the UFC heavyweight title are ‘f***ing crazy.’
White also confirmed during the first public assessment of his heavyweight champion’s words that Jones has agreed to fight Aspinall and remains certain the two will lock horns to unify their division.
UFC CEO White was questioned about the heavyweight bout after Merab Dvalishvili retained his bantamweight strap at UFC 316 by submitting Sean O’Malley.
Last week, Jones stated that he doesn’t care if the UFC strip him of his heavyweight belt, saying he would vacate the title before any agreement was made.
“F***ing crazy, I’ve been busy and I haven’t been keeping up with the gossip,” White said, responding to the admission from ‘Bones’.
“He comes back [soon], he was in Thailand, so he’s home, and Tuesday we’ll figure this out.
“Tom Aspinall is the guy, he’s the guy… if [Jones] wants to retire and doesn’t want to fight, then there’s nothing you can do.
“I didn’t want Khabib [Nurmagomedov] to retire, I thought [Daniel Cormier] should’ve stayed a little longer, so it’s none of my business.
“I’ll do what I can to make the fight if we can. I didn’t realise he was talking that crazy s***.”
White also responded to a fan petition calling for Jones to be stripped of the heavyweight belt due his avoidance of an Aspinall fight.
“Every human on earth was DMing it to me,” White said.
“I saw it. How many fans are there worldwide? 400 million or something like that. 130,000 people want to see him stripped?
White called Jones’ retirement comments ‘crazy s***’Getty Dvalishvili retained his bantamweight strap at UFC 316 by submitting O’MalleyGetty“It’s kinda f***ing silly.”
Jones has claimed multiple times that he told the UFC his plans ‘a long time ago.’
He said on Friday: “[Aspinall] is no threat to me whatsoever, he should start with just trying to be the best heavyweight of all time, that goal would be plenty.”
White added: “It’s definitely the process with Jon Jones. I’ve been going through this since the day we started here.
“Him and Anderson Silva, every time throughout the history of being in business with those guys, when the time comes to get them fighting it’s like dealing with artists.
“I’ve been saying it since the beginning, Jon Jones agreed to do the fight. Jon Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal.
Jones defeated Stipe Miocic in his last fight in November to retain the titleGettyUFC 316 Main Card Results
One title change in New Jersey
Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via third-round submission (guillotine choke) Kayla Harrison def. Julianna Pena via second-round submission (kimura) Joe Pyfer defeated Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision Mario Bautista def. Patchy Mix via unanimous decision Kevin Holland def. Vicente Luque via second-round submission (d’arce choke)White later clarified: “Jon agreed to fight Tom, yes.”
This follows comments from Aspinall, who insisted last week that he is moving on from Jones, as the latter is retired.
Jones has shown very little interest in fighting the Brit, who has been sidelined since last July, waiting for his rival to accept the bout that MMA fans are clamouring to see.
The expectation is that Aspinall will be elevated to full champion in the coming days when the UFC eventually strip Jones.
All of the talk surrounding the Jones vs Aspinall has even prompted Jones to show his interest in a fight with PFL star and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
“I’m hearing Francis Ngannou is still interested… now we’re talking,” he posted on X.
Jones has now said he would rather fight Francis Ngannou, instead of AspinallGetty“That’s a real super fight. A clash of champions, not just hype.
“He held the UFC belt, I’ve defended mine for over a decade. Two kings from different roads.
“Not just one legend facing a mouth that’s hot right now, but two real legacies colliding.
“That’s the kind of fight that actually adds something special to my story. At least from my point of view.”
As time ticks on, it is only likely that we could see the fight Jones vs Aspinall in November or December, with reports suggesting ‘Bones’ wants 180 days from the moment the fight is announced to prepare for the Englishman.
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