Dana White believes Tom Aspinall should be next for Jon Jones after the Stipe Miocic fight.
If you ask a majority of UFC fights, few of them are likely to show interest in the impending clash between Jones and Miocic. Many of them would much rather see Jones, the undisputed heavyweight world champion, unify his title with Aspinall’s interim belt. Unfortunately, that’s just not the world we live in.
After lobbying hard for a fight with Jones, Aspinall has seemingly moved on, opting to become the first fighter to defend an interim belt in more than a decade when he steps inside the Octagon with Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester.
Meanwhile, Jones has still not locked down a rescheduled date for his clash with the two-time titleholder, but all signs seemingly point toward a November setting at Madison Square Garden.
Should ‘Bones’ bag a win over the consensus heavyweight GOAT, one would assume a title unification contest would be a top priority, but that doesn’t appear to interest Jones at all. Instead, the former light heavyweight champ has been gauging interest in a superfight with Alex Pereira on social media, continuing to outright disrespect Aspinall’s status.
During a recent appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about a potential showdown between Jones and Pereira. White made it clear that the Miocic fight “has to happen” first, but he believes Aspinall should be next on Jones’ itinerary, not ‘Poatan.’
“First of all, he has to fight Stipe,” White said. “That fight just has to happen. The next fight should be Aspinall. If Jon Jones beats Stipe, then Aspinall… He’s gonna come out and fight Stipe and the fact that he could fight Aspinall, it’s unbelievable. He will truly not be appreciated until he’s gone.”
Dana White believes that Tom Aspinall should be next for Jon Jones after Stipe Miocic as opposed to Alex Pereira.
When asked about the matchup between Jon Jones and Alex Pereira, Dana responds:
"Pereira is amazing. I think Jon Jones walks through everybody, man."
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 19, 2024
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Dana White predicts Jon jones vs. Alex Pereira
White did however offer a bit of a prediction should ‘Bones’ ever find himself standing across from Pereira inside the Octagon.
“Pereira is amazing, but I think Jon Jones walks through everybody,” White added.
While Jon Jones continues to heal up from a pectoral tear he suffered in October, Aspinall and Pereira both prepare to put their titles on the line. Stepping in on just 16 days’ notice, ‘Poatan’ will put his light heavyweight title on the line in a championship rematch against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on June 29.
A month later, Aspinall will look to avenge his lone loss inside the Octagon with he squares off with ‘Razor’ in his home country.