DANA WHITE has issued a defiant statement on Jon Jones’ fighting future amid continued doubt over his heavyweight title unification bout with Tom Aspinall.
The mammoth melee has been in the works since last November but has yet to be finalised, despite the UFC brass meeting .
The continued uncertainty over the bout has led many MMA fans to believe it won’t come to fruition.
But during a recent Instagram Live, a defiant White roared: “We’ll get Aspinall vs Jones done.
“The heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I’ll announce that soon.”;;
has since GUARANTEED that former pound-for-pound king Jones will fight this year.
He told Adam Glyn: “Jon Jones will be fighting in 2025. 100 per cent.”;;
White’s initial declaration came after he announced a slew of pay-per-view main events, including the showpiece bout for UFC 317 on June 28.
The veteran promoter revealed that the International Fight Week card’s main event will see Georgian-born Spaniard Ilia Topuria throw down with fan favourite for the vacant lightweight title.
White also revealed that the co-main event will see Alexandre Pantoja make his fourth defence of the men’s flyweight title in against Kai Kara-France.
The 55-year-old signed off his broadcast by revealing that Russian wrecking machine will challenge for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 316 on August 16.
The current lay of the UFC pay-per-view land means that Jones vs Aspinall, if it comes to fruition, will take place in September at the earliest.
SunSport, however, understands the fight has been tentatively earmarked for UFC 322, which is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in November.
A date for the promotion’s annual visit to ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’, however, has yet to be finalised.
Former two-division champion Jones has repeatedly been accused of “ducking”;; interim champion Aspinall since making his last November.
The Hall-of-Famer has been irked by claims he’s avoiding the Wigan warrior, so much so that he took to Instagram Live to send a message to his critics.
He said: “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.”;;
Jones he drew the ire of UFC fans this week with a cheeky jibe at Aspinall, in which he joked about his own activity.
Commenting on a joint Instagram post with Bangtao MMA announcing an upcoming training seminar in Thailand, he wrote: “Everything but fighting.”;;
