UFC CEO Dana White has made a decision on the whole Jon Jones/Tom Aspinall drama. Earlier this week, Jones said he would not fight Aspinall if he beats Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 because he believes the UFC interim champ has crossed the line while attempting to get a fight against him.
“If I’m being completely honest, I feel like Tom’s been such an assh— that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jones said at UFC 309 media day “His fans have been so annoying. Obviously, you don’t get this far in a career being affected by fans and whatnot. But he’s just an asshole. He’s 31, so he’s from this influencer generation where you hop online and the T-shirt sales and all that. I’m past that type of stuff. I’m like, ‘Bro, if you had a little bit more respect, then maybe we could’ve worked something out.’
Jon Jones said he wanted to relinquish the UFC heavyweight title and fight Alex Pereira because it’s a bigger fight for his legacy.
“Fight the nobody that may be more dangerous, or fight the guy with all the accolades, who’s incredibly dangerous but actually will affect your legacy? Me beating Ciryl Gane didn’t change anything for me, just gave me a few more millions. And it would be the same for Tom Aspinall whereas, when you look back, ‘Jon just beat Alex Pereira,’ it’s bigger. It’s just bigger. And anybody who can’t understand that logic simply doesn’t want to.”
While speaking with Jim Rome, White said that if Jones wins, he must fight Aspinall if he wants to fight again in the UFC.
“If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall,” declared White.
It’ll be interesting to see if Jones retires and refuses to fight Aspinall if he wins on Saturday night.