Dana White has laid out the UFC’s stance over Jon Jones’ next fight and confirmed plans for the American to face interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Controversy has surrounded Jones’ reluctance to face the British fighter following his legacy fight against Stipe Miocicat UFC 309 on Saturday.
And fans have pushed for confirmation that Jones, should he defeat Miocic, will return to the octagon against Aspinall in a mouthwatering clash of generations.
But despite the American’s barbs at Aspinall’s resume and a desire to face fighters with a greater profile, such as Alex Pereira, White maintains Jones’ UFC future beyond this weekend must run through Aspinall.
“Obviously a guy like Jon Jones has had a career that, if you know, if he wants something, we'll do it,” White told the Pat McAfee Show. “But you can't just want to do a fun fight and not fight the interim champion, the guy who is next.
“If Jon Jones retired on Saturday, Tom Aspinall will be the heavyweight champion. Opportunities were given to Jones when he was 23, the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.
“Now as he sits where he sits, it's his obligation to give it to the younger guy and give him that opportunity. But if he beats Tom Aspinall, then yes, I would do the Alex Pereira fight.”
Jones is due to defend the heavyweight title against former champion Miocic at UFC 309 on 16 November, a year after the fight fell through.
Jones, 37, suffered a pectoral injury two weeks before UFC 295, leading his bout with Miocic, 42, to be postponed. Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich stepped in, with the Briton knocking out the Russian in round one to win the interim title.
Aspinall, 31, has since retained that belt with a knockout of Curtis Blaydes in July, and he hopes to face the winner of Jones vs Miocic. However, Jones has teased that he could retire after UFC 309, and many fans expect Miocic to do the same.
“[If] one guy wants to retire, one guy wants to continue, both guys want to retire, whatever – we’ve got all bases covered,” Aspinall told Uncrowned on Monday (14 October).
“Yes, it is official. I mean, Dana [White, UFC president] announced it a while ago now, but I didn’t actually hear anything from the UFC. But now we’ve actually spoken, everything’s going good. We’ve come to an agreement about it, we know what’s happening going forward.
“We’ve got plans, we’ve got future fight plans, everything is right there. It’s gonna be a good couple of years, let me tell you. Big plans, big, big, massive plans. I can’t lay it out for you!”
