UFC CEO Dana White has finally spoken about Tom Aspinall’s demand to end the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight. During the UFC on ESPN 52 post-fight press conference, the executive stressed the need to push the bout, saying both fighters want and deserve it.
It can be recalled that the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion lambasted the UFC for its decision to allow Jones to keep his belt despite his situation. With this, Aspinall said that Jones should leave the title and that the Jones-Miocic fight “is completely dead in the water now.” The Briton even suggested replacing Jones to fight Miocic.
“I don’t see why he’s still got it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now,” stated Aspinall. “It’s hard to say without sounding rude, but who’s asked about Jon Jones and Stipe anymore? Why do we get this legacy fight, and they get to live by their own rules? What’s a legacy fight, a retirement fight for a title? I want to fight Stipe and then I want to fight Jon Jones. … I think all this other stuff is rubbish. Stop protecting him now. Stop protecting your boy Jon Jones at the top.”
White, however, remains firm about the decision to wait for Jones to complete his recovery in order to make his expected last bout. Earlier reports claim that the champ would officially retire after this, making it a disappointment for Aspinall, who’s always been vocal about fighting Jones.
“The Stipe fight has to happen,” said White. “Both of those guys deserve it. You have the greatest mixed martial artist of all time vs. the greatest heavyweight of all time. They’ve paid their dues; they’ve done their things. These two want to fight each other, and it’s going to happen. Whoever wins, we’ll see what they decide to do after that, and then we’ll go from there.”
