UFC CEO Dana White is adamant about booking UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic amid growing demand to see interim champ Aspinall challenge Jones.
Jones vs. Miocic is rumored for UFC 309 on Nov. 16, one full year after their original pay-per-view main event was postponed. Aspinall helped save the card by defeating Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title fight. Nine months and one rare interim title defense later, Aspinall has no date for a title unifier with Jones.
The debate about who should fight Jones was relitigated during Tuesday's "Contender Series" post-fight scrum. White said he would not disrespect Miocic, whom many deem the greatest UFC heavyweight fighter, by scrapping the Jones fight.
"Jon Jones gets hurt, it's not his fault," White said. "He has to wait and go back into f---ing training camp again. He was training. So do I just yank it away from Stipe and say go f--- yourself and sit on the sidelines for two more years?
"If I did that, you guys would be like, 'Oh, you f---ing disrespected the greatest heavyweight ever!' and so would the f---ing fans. So I should just shit on Stipe because Jon got hurt and not make the fight that he was already supposed to fight?"
White claimed Miocic's impending retirement plays a big role in his commitment to booking the fight. White said he wouldn't feel right if Miocic, 42, didn't get a legacy-defining fight to wrap up his career.
"I guarantee you this, if Stipe wins, Stipe is going to retire," White said. "This will be Stipe's last fight. So are you, the media, telling me I should just tell Stipe to f--- off? 'Good luck to you Stipe, ride off into the sunset, go fight some fires and that's a wrap for you buddy, because Jon got hurt.' Or do I show this guy the respect that I should show him and give them both the fight that they want? That's the position I'm in.
"If Stipe was 32 years old, then yeah, [an interim title fight] is probably what we do. But this is probably Stipe's last fight, win or lose, and I'm not going to disrespect the guy. He accepted the fight, he was ready for the fight, and Jon got injured."
Many have declared Aspinall, 31, as the future of the heavyweight division. The interim champion has not been defeated cleanly in nine UFC appearances. The exception is a knee injury suffered seconds into his July 2022 fight with Curtis Blaydes, which he avenged by knocking out Blaydes in one minute at UFC 304. Aspinall has stopped all eight UFC opponents, seven in Round 1. Aspinall commended Aspinall's talents and expects Jones vs. Aspinall to come to fruition despite Aspinall's doubts.
"Aspinall's a young, badass dude," White said. "He's got plenty of time. These guys are going to fight in November and he will fight Jon Jones if he wins, I almost guarantee you that. And if Stipe wins, we'll figure out what's next for Aspinall."
