Written by NEW YORK – Jon Jones may claim Tom Aspinall lacks notoriety, but UFC CEO Dana White clearly thinks otherwise.
After Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) dispatched of Stipe Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) by third-round TKO on Saturday at UFC 309 to defend the heavyweight championship, White has a strong craving to see a unification bout with interim titleholder Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who has been campaigning hard to get a fight with “Bones.”
Unfortunately for Aspinall, though, Jones thinks he’s “an asshole” who is “annoying.” Jones said both before and after UFC 309 that he has no interest in fighting Aspinall and would rather vacate the belt than give the Brit an opportunity to compete against him.
The only thing that would open the door in Jones’ mind is if the UFC offered him “f*ck you money,” but did not share a specific number. White said Jones will be properly compensated, and displayed only confidence a deal will get done. And if it does, White thinks it will be an all-time event.
“It would be the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history, by a long shot,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “It’s going to be the biggest heavyweight fight ever. And it’ll probably be the biggest fight we’ve ever done.”
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By which metric White defines for the “biggest fight” is unclear. He could be referring to live gate, pay-per-view sales, general global interest or another variable, but the assurance behind his comments was encouraging to those pining to see the fight.
Offshore opening odds for a potential Jones vs. Aspinall fight have Jones as a slight betting underdog. If that held, it would be the first time Jones would be an underdog in a fight since early 2009. He was an underdog in his first two UFC fights against Andre Gusmao and Stephan Bonnar, but never has been less than roughly at least a 2-1 favorite in every fight since then.
White said he loves Jones being pitted in a position of doubt. White has been Jones’ sternest supporter in recent years, touting him as the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter and best combat sports athlete in history.
The UFC boss was impressed with what he saw from Jones against Miocic, and White is highly intrigued about how Jones would approach a fight with Aspinall.
“He’s got the highest fight IQ – he’s like f*cking Elon Musk in the octagon,” White said. “This guy is brilliant in there, and the things he pulls off (are amazing). … I don’t know what he’ll do with Aspinall.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.