UFC head Dana White issued a confident statement regarding Jon Jones` fighting career, addressing lingering doubts about his highly anticipated heavyweight title unification bout against Tom Aspinall.
This major fight has been in the works since last November but has yet to be officially confirmed, despite reports that the UFC has agreed to pay Jones the amount he referred to as “f**k you money”.
Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the event, many MMA fans have started to doubt whether the fight will ever happen.
However, during a recent Instagram Live session, White responded assertively: “We`ll get Aspinall vs Jones done. The heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I`ll announce that soon.”
White has since GUARANTEED that the former pound-for-pound king Jones will compete in 2025.
Speaking to Adam Glyn, he confirmed: “Jon Jones will be fighting in 2025. 100 per cent.”
White`s statement followed his announcement of several upcoming pay-per-view main events. Notably, he revealed that the main event for UFC 317 on June 28th, part of International Fight Week, will feature Ilia Topuria against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. White also confirmed that Alexandre Pantoja will make his fourth flyweight title defense against Kai Kara-France in the co-main event.
Based on the current UFC pay-per-view schedule, the Jones vs Aspinall fight, if it is indeed organised, would likely not take place until September at the earliest.
It is speculated that the fight could happen at UFC 322, which is expected to be held at Madison Square Garden in November. However, the exact date for the promotion`s annual November event at the iconic venue has not yet been finalized.
Former two-division champion Jones has been frequently accused of “ducking” interim champion Aspinall since he was expected to make his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic last November. The accusations that he is avoiding the British fighter have clearly irked Jones, prompting him to go on Instagram Live to address his critics.
He stated: “I`ve got people in the chat calling me a duck. Meanwhile, I`m living my absolute best life. I don’t know if it’s considered ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works like that.”
This week, Jones also drew the ire of UFC fans by taking a jab at Aspinall and commenting on his own inactivity. Under a joint Instagram post with Bangtao MMA announcing an upcoming training seminar in Thailand, he wrote: “Everything but fighting.”
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