Dana White's 7-Word Comment Suggests Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall is Happening

Jon Jones has agreed to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title, as confirmed by Dana White. This promising development indicates that punters should anticipate potentially favorable odds for Aspinall, considering the long-awaited showdown could materialize at Madison Square Garden in November.

Dana White has provided the most encouraging update in months on a potential heavyweight title unification bout between full champion, Jon Jones, and interim titleholder, Tom Aspinall.

Earlier this week, the Brit claimed that he considered Jones to be retired - and indicated that he was now looking to face a new challenger for the full heavyweight crown. In fairness to Aspinall, he has been more than patient while waiting for Jones.

The 32-year-old has held the interim strap ever since knocking out Sergei Pavlovich inside a round at UFC 295 in November 2023. Since that victory, he has made just one further appearance in the Octagon and now hasn't fought for close to a full calendar year.

Jones, meanwhile, has competed only twice in five years - and only once since submitting Cyril Gane to win the then-vacant UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 285 in March 2023. His sole defence of the belt came against Stipe Miocic back in November. For as respected as former two-time champion Miocic is for his accomplishments in the sport, he was 42 at the time he stepped in to take on Jones at UFC 309. Fans were happy to see 'Bones' back in the Octagon, but Miocic was not the opponent they wanted to watch him tangle with.

Whenever the UFC CEO faces the media these days, the topic of Jones vs Aspinall is virtually certain to be discussed, and Saturday's post-UFC 316 press conference in Newark, New Jersey was no exception. This time, though, instead of cleverly batting the question away, Dana addressed the subject head-on.

Jon Jones & Tom Aspinall's professional MMA records (as of 08/06/25)

• Jon Jones - Fights: 30, Wins: 28, Losses: 1, No contests: 1

• Tom Aspinall - Fights: 18, Wins: 15, Losses: 3, No contests: 0

Dana White Insists Jones vs Aspinall Will Happen

In just seven words, White gave fans more reason to be hopeful about seeing the fight than ever before, just days after Jones' reported purse for the bout was leaked. "Jon Jones agreed to do the fight!" The UFC boss then moved on as though the comment wasn't a huge bombshell, but reporters in attendance were so taken aback by his statement that they pushed for clarity on it.

"Jon agreed to fight Tom, yes," Dana confirmed, before declaring that he had never been in any doubt that the fight would happen. "You guys have heard me for the last however long, I said, ‘I guarantee this fight is going to happen'. Yes, I’ve been saying Jon is gonna fight Tom!"

Ironically, just at the point where Jones vs Aspinall seems closer than it has in quite some time, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has recently expressed an interest in facing off with Jones in a UFC vs PFL mega-fight to determine who he best heavyweight on the planet is. 'The Predator' never lost his crown before walking away from the UFC, meaning that many fans would love to see Ngannou and Jones battle it out inside the cage.

White, though, isn't so keen. "It’s Aspinall’s fight. I mean, we’ve been talking to this kid about it forever and it’s his fight. "You can’t make people fight, if Jon doesn’t want to fight, you can’t make him fight. We can try to make him fight, we can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight, but we’ll figure it out... I don’t have Ngannou under contract and Aspinall is the guy!"

Francis Ngannou reacts to Jon Jones's comments about both fighting one another in the UFC. Asked whether he would like to have Ngannou back under UFC contract, White was pretty clear in his response: "Eh, probably not." The pair did not part on good terms when Francis left the promotion, and so it is understandable that Dana isn't in a rush to work with him again.

What the UFC boss is likely in a rush to get done, though, is the clash between Jones and Aspinall. To many observers, the most logical location for the fight to take place would be at the company's annual visit to Madison Square Garden in November - meaning that even if the fight is fully agreed, there is likely to be a five-month wait until the two rivals actually exchange blows.

Jon Jones amps his rivalry with Tom Aspinall, even though the UFC champ refuses to fight him.

Dana White's seven-word comment on Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall suggests fight is finally happening

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