SME News UK. UFC CEO Dana White has reaffirmed his commitment to organizing the long-awaited undisputed heavyweight title clash between reigning champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.Despite growing speculation around Jones’ future in the sport\u2014and Aspinall’s own public doubts about whether the fight would ever materialize\u2014White made it clear during the UFC 316 post-fight press conference that the UFC will do everything possible to make the bout happen.\u201cTom Aspinall is the guy,\u201d said White. \u201cIf the guy \\[Jones] wants to retire and doesn\u2019t want to fight, there\u2019s nothing you can do. I didn\u2019t want Khabib \\[Nurmagomedov] to retire, I thought \\[Daniel Cormier] should\u2019ve stayed in it longer\u2014so it\u2019s none of my business. But I\u2019ll do what I can to make the fight, if we can.\u201dAspinall, 32, has held the interim heavyweight title for 18 months, and while he has expressed eagerness to unify the belts, he has also hinted that Jones may already have one foot out of the octagon.White, however, pushed back on that notion, revealing that Jon Jones had not only been offered a fight with Aspinall\u2014but had accepted it.\u201cIt\u2019s Aspinall\u2019s fight,\u201d White stated. \u201cJon agreed to fight Tom. Jon Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal.\u201dIn recent weeks, there has been renewed talk about a possible superfight between Jones and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. But White clarified that Aspinall remains the priority.\u201cJon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is the fight to make. That\u2019s the one fans want, and that\u2019s the one we\u2019re working toward,\u201d said White.If finalized, the bout would mark one of the most significant heavyweight showdowns in UFC history, pitting the legendary Jones against one of the division\u2019s fastest-rising stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SME News UK. UFC CEO Dana White has reaffirmed his commitment to organizing the long-awaited undisputed heavyweight title clash between reigning champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.Despite growing speculation around Jones’ future in the sport\u2014and Aspinall’s own public doubts about whether the fight would ever materialize\u2014White made it clear during the UFC 316…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts"],"yoast_head":"\n