Dana White shares opinion on Jones vs. Pereira instead of Aspinall

UFC CEO Dana White pushes back on Jon Jones’ proposed legacy fight idea.

Should Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defeat Stipe Miocic and decide to retire after UFC 309, White told “The Jim Rome Show” on Thursday there is only one option that makes sense and that is Tom Aspinall.

Although Jones wants to fight Alex Pereira in a potential superfight, White doesn’t see the UFC light heavyweight champion having the skills to book it.

“Jon will do what he does on Saturday,” White said. “If he wins, he will disappear for a while and the competitive spirit will start to bubble up again and then the money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he absolutely, positively fights Aspinall. He is not fighting Pereira.

“(Pereira) was a middleweight who moved up to light heavyweight. He is also a kickboxer who has done very, very well in MMA. His wrestling is not even close to Jon Jones’ level and Jon Jones is way bigger than him. If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.”

Jones has flirted with the idea that Saturday’s fight against Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at Madison Square Garden will be his final appearance in the octagon. But he’s also constantly entertained questions with scenario-filled answers about a future beyond that.

Neither of Jones’ scenarios includes Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who won interim gold in November 2023 and has defended it once since. Jones has instead focused on Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who he sees as a matchup that makes more business sense and for his legacy.

White has consistently expressed his opinion that Jones will compete again beyond UFC 309. Considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Jones has not lost outside of a disqualification for throwing then-illegal 12-6 elbows in December 2009.

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