Dana White doesn’t see Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic riding off into the sunset just yet.
Jones, the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion, has fought in the Octagon longer than most, having made his promotional debut in 2008 before he captured his first world title in 2011. A decade of title wins later, “Bones” claimed the heavyweight strap against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March of last year.
Since then, Jones had to postpone his first title defense against Stipe Miocic from a year ago to UFC 309, where they headline from Madison Square Garden. Of course, breathing down their necks is interim champ Tom Aspinall, who’s made it clear he’s the #1 guy in the heavyweight division with three-straight victories, one of those being a rare interim title defense in Jones’ more than a year-long absence.
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Even with Aspinall staking his claim for a title unification bout against the winner, there’s no guarantee either Jones or Miocic will fight on after UFC 309 is over and done with. Both men have just about done it all in their careers with Jones, 37, approaching his forties and Miocic already 42.
Though, age is just a number, with UFC CEO Dana White thinking the veterans will give a young gun like Tom Aspinall a chance to compete for the undisputed title, which is what the Brit has been asking for over the last 12 months.
“I truly believe that whoever wins this fight, just competitively the way that these guys are wired and the reason that they’re both massive legends in the sport, they’re not going to just ride off into the sunset without settling the dispute with Tom Aspinall,” White told TNT Sports.
In his time away from competition, Jones has shown not even the slightest interest in unifying the titles against Aspinall.
On Friday, Jones confirmed to Kevin Iole he’d “more than likely not” fight Aspinall after Miocic, saying the interim champ might be “cool today” but “maybe gone tomorrow”, preferring a super fight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira (a superstar in his own right) instead.
On the other hand, Miocic isn’t focused on retirement at all (at least in recent interviews), and is totally locked in on the fight with “Bones”. So, where will the accomplished heavyweight’s heads be with yet another championship win at UFC 309?
“When you think about Jon Jones becoming the youngest champion in [light] heavyweight history and all the things that Stipe accomplished – they were given opportunities, you know when they were young, and I think that they will reciprocate,” White said of Jones, Miocic potentially unifying the title against Aspinall.
“People will lose their minds if either one of those fights happen.”
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