MMA
Dana White on why he refused to budge from Jon Jones-Stipe Miocic fight
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Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was originally slated to headline UFC 295 in November, but Jones being injured altered those plans.
Still, even with the ascension of Tom Aspinall, Dana White couldn't simply move past Jones vs. Miocic, which is expected to happen later this year now with Jones' heavyweight title on the line.
The UFC CEO explained his thought process behind sticking with the heavyweight championship fight during his Dana White's Contender Series post-fight press conference Tuesday night.
“What do I do?” White began telling reporters. “A guy who is looked at as the greatest heavyweight in the UFC, this fight is set up, Jon Jones gets hurt, it’s not his fault. 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—k yourself and sit on the sidelines for two more years?"
White added: “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 s—t on Stipe because Jon got hurt and not make the fight that he was already supposed to fight?”
The 42-year-old Miocic, a former two-time heavyweight world champion, hasn't fought since losing the title to Francis Ngannou back in March 2021. He's ranked eighth in the heavyweight rankings but White's respect for Miocic made him stick with the plan.
“I have two legends of the sport that wanted to fight each other,” White continued. “These guys are lined up, one guy gets hurt, and this is the fight that they both want. What do you do? You don’t show the guys the respect? I guarantee you this, if Stipe wins, Stipe is going to retire. This will be Stipe’s last fight.
"So are you, the media, telling me I should just tell Stipe to f—kl 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."
He added: “If Stipe was 32 years old, then yeah, [an interim title bout] 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.”
That said, White vows that Aspinall will have his shot.
“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.”
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