Dana White offers Jon Jones a compromise for the desired Alex Pereira fight

UFC CEO Dana White has changed his tune on booking Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira – sort of.

Ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 309, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) has claimed that if successful, he will not unify the belts with interim champions Tom Aspinall. Instead, he will face reigning light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira, who he said is the only matchup that would keep him from retiring.

White has already expressed his dismay at these comments and said he will not do Jones vs. Pereira fight next, and “Bones” has the option to either retire or unify with Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). He stands behind that, but believes that there is a compromise that could be reached to satisfy everyone involved.

“Obviously, a guy like Jon Jones has had a career where if he wants something, we would do it,” White said. The Pat McAfee Show. “But you can’t just do a fun fight and not fight the interim heavyweight champion, the guy who’s next – because if Jon Jones retired on Saturday, Tom Aspinall would be the heavyweight champion.

“Opportunities were given to Jon Jones. He was 23, he was the youngest champion ever. Now, sitting where he sits, it’s his obligation to give it to the younger guy to give him that opportunity. If he hits Tom Aspinall, so yes I would take the Alex Pereira fight.

It remains to be seen whether Jones will be open to taking on Aspinall. He said at UFC 309 that the Brit was “an asshole” and he doesn’t want to deal with him.

UFC 309 takes place at Madison Square Garden. The motherboard is displayed ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelude to ESPNews and ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkies event hub for UFC 309.