According to Dana White, Jon Jones` assertion that he had already retired several months prior came as news to the UFC president.
Speaking after UFC 317 on Saturday night, White addressed recent tweets from Jones. The former champion claimed he had informed the promotion he was finished after his victory over Stipe Miocic but was repeatedly urged to reconsider. While Jones acknowledged discussing a potential matchup with Tom Aspinall with the UFC, he strongly denied that any agreement was ever reached for the fight, despite White`s statement that the bout was “done” until Jones abruptly decided to retire.
“I was told 1,000 times to just reconsider and just give it more time. That’s the truth,” Jones said on Twitter. “If the fight was done, trust me, I would be fighting. Did we start negotiating at one point yes, but [it] was never done. My job at the time was to sit back and be quiet about it and that’s exactly what I did. I was enjoying my life that should’ve been obvious to you guys.”
While not aiming for a heated argument about the validity of his earlier comments, White disputed Jones` various tweets on the topic when questioned at the UFC 317 post-fight press conference.
“That’s not true,” White stated regarding Jones’ claims that he effectively retired last November. “I’m telling you the truth. Believe who you want to believe.”
It`s not new for White and Jones to have differing accounts of how situations unfolded between them, although this could potentially be one of their last such disagreements.
For his part, White remained calm and did not get agitated when addressing Jones’ claims, but he stands by his assertion that the fight against Aspinall was agreed upon until the now-former heavyweight titleholder changed his mind.
Regardless of the specifics, the outcome is the same: Jones has vacated the title and retired from the sport, leaving Tom Aspinall as the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Regarding Aspinall`s next opponent, White chose not to discuss potential possibilities when asked about a likely fight between Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, which appears to be the most probable matchup currently.
Aspinall has already expressed his interest in fighting Gane, but no definitive decisions have been made as the heavyweight division moves forward following Jones` reign as champion.
