UFC CEO Dana White is confident the biggest fight of 2025 will take place.
White pulled back the curtain Saturday night on ongoing negotiations to book a unification fight between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall. White reiterated his belief that Jones v. Aspinall is “the biggest fight in heavyweight history” and, when asked directly if he could guarantee it would take place in 2025, he issued a “100%” promise that it would.
“It’s a huge fight in the history of the company,” White said at the UFC Tampa post-fight press conference.
White further noted that while Jones continues to disavow Aspinall at every turn in his public comments, the heavyweight champion’s feelings are very different behind closed doors.
“Let me tell you what’s strange about it,” White said. “Usually those guys say that shit (about not wanting the fight) behind the scenes and not publicly. Jon says that shit publicly, but not behind the scenes. Jon is a unique individual to deal with. From day one I’ve I’ve been sure Jon Jones would make that fight, right? Even before the fight, I said that if he won, there was no way Jon wouldn’t make this fight.
“Jon Jones is not afraid to fight anyone and that’s a fact. The only time anything remotely strange happened to Jon Jones was when his damn camp did the weird Chael Sonnen thing (at UFC 151), ‘We can’t fight Chael Sonnen in the short term. And that wasn’t him, that was his team, and he listened to his team, for some reason, but that’s the dumbest move in UFC history. But other than that, Jon Jones is behind the scenes. .He is not a type who rejects fights.”
The ascent to Aspinall has followed Jones’ reign like a dark cloud in 2024becoming even more onerous after Aspinall’s 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes in August to defend the interim belt. The 31-year-old Englishman has stomped through the UFC heavyweight division since signing with the UFC in 2020, compiling an 8-1 record with all eight of his wins ending in first- or second-round stoppages. Aspinall avenged his only loss (a 15-second injury loss to Blaydes) in defending his interim title.
Aspinall then served as a backup fighter for Jones’ heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic in November at UFC 309, in which Jones dominated the 41-year-old former two-time champion.
Jones spent much of UFC 309 fight week minimizing the chances of him ever facing Aspinall and instead criticized UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. However, Jones left the door to a fight with Aspinall slightly ajar in his post-fight press conference, bluntly. asking the UFC to pay him “fuck you money” to accept the title unification fight.
Aspinall’s coach and father, Andy Aspinall, he recently told Uncrowned that UFC executives White and Hunter Campbell are doing “everything in their power” to make the fight happen. He predicted the fight will finally take place in 2025 in Las Vegas and promised his son will be up to the task.
“Tom will be different from all these people that (Jones) has fought before, and I think it will bother (Jones) because he hasn’t seen any film about Tom,” Andy Aspinall said. “A lot of people still don’t know what it is.” Tom is really good at. He’s good in a lot of different areas besides getting in and out, catching people and finishing them. “He’s really good at it, and that can (well) work with Jones.”
“(Jones has) two arms, two legs and a head, just like anyone else (Aspinall) trains, and I don’t think Tom will mind in the least who’s in front of him when they finally fight.” he added.