The drawn-out saga between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall might finally be reaching its end.
The long-rumored champion vs. champion showdown has been in limbo for months, with nothing concrete in place. While fans have waited, the heavyweight division has remained stuck in place.
Jones, who holds the official UFC heavyweight title, has kept everyone guessing. He’s hinted at retirement, floated the idea of returning, and stayed mostly silent about what comes next. Meanwhile, interim champ Tom Aspinall has stayed ready since his blistering first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes back in July 2024. The Brit has made it clear: he wants to unify the titles and he wants to do it against Jones.
UFC CEO Dana White now says an answer is finally on the way. He recently told Jim Rome that the promotion expects clarity within weeks. And if Jones vs. Aspinall doesn’t happen, White’s not wasting any more time.
“We’ll see how this thing plays out over the next couple weeks,” White said. “If we can’t get this fight done, we’ll move on quickly. We’ll have the answers in the next couple weeks.”
The pressure is mounting. Aspinall has called Jones out repeatedly, even going as far as claiming the former light heavyweight champ was already retired. While Aspinall has stayed vocal, Jones has mostly stayed quiet except to say that both men agreed to let the UFC announce any fight news. Still, there’s been no confirmation of a deal, and fans are growing restless.
What’s clear is that Dana White isn’t entertaining talk that Jones is ducking Aspinall.
“Listen, Jon Jones has been an interesting human being to deal with since the day he got here,” White said. “But I will say this about him, you would never hear me out talking about he’s the GOAT and he’s this and he’s that if Jon Jones didn’t want to fight people. Jon Jones has never ever said ‘I’m afraid to fight this guy’ or ‘I don’t like this fight for me’ or any of that stuff.”
White also pointed to the only time a UFC event had to be canceled because of Jones—back in 2012. Jones was supposed to defend his light heavyweight title against Dan Henderson, who pulled out due to injury. The UFC tried to slot in Chael Sonnen on short notice, but Jones’ coach at the time advised against it. White insists that decision came from the coach, not from Jones.
“I think it’s the only fight we ever canceled, had to cancel a show because of [this] — but he wouldn’t fight Chael Sonnen because his coach thought it was a bad idea to take that fight on late notice. But it had nothing to do with Jon Jones. Jon Jones has never turned down an opponent here or been afraid to fight anybody.”
Jones’ jump to heavyweight in 2023 was massive. After years of buildup, he submitted Ciryl Gane to win the vacant title and cemented himself as the baddest man on the planet. But since then, he’s only fought once, scoring a TKO win over a fading Stipe Miocic. That inactivity led the UFC to create an interim belt, which Aspinall seized with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich.
Aspinall hasn’t stopped campaigning for a title unification bout. But with each passing month, the silence from Jones’ camp has only added fuel to the fire. White, however, is adamant that Jones isn’t afraid.
“Jon Jones has never turned down an opponent or been afraid to fight anybody,” White said again during his interview with Rome.
Regardless of how things shake out, fans are tired of the hold-up. This is a legacy fight—possibly the biggest heavyweight clash in UFC history.
