Dana White Rejects 200,000 Tom Aspinall Fans’ Plea, Francis Ngannou’s UFC Return for Jon Jones Fight Update

“It sucks to see the rest of the division get slowed down like this, but that has nothing to do with me.” With that single line on X, Jon Jones poured gasoline on a heavyweight title saga that’s already on fire. The undisputed heavyweight champ is currently in Thailand, far from the Octagon, and even further from a unification bout with interim champion Tom Aspinall.

But his online rants have only fueled growing calls for the belt to be stripped. Now, with Francis Ngannou’s coach recently confirming that ‘The Predator’ would be open to a UFC return if Dana White’s ready for it, the frenzy surrounding Jones has only grown louder. And the UFC boss? Well, he’s finally responded!

Dana White avoids Francis Ngannou question as he provides an update on Jon Jones situation

At the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, when asked about ‘Bones’ claims and recent tweets suggesting he’s ready to vacate the title, White didn’t sugarcoat his confusion. “He said he’s ready to vacate the belt?” he shot back. When the journalist who’d asked the question responded by stating, “He said he doesn’t care if you strip him, he’ll vacate it”, White dropped the bombshell.

According to the UFC head honcho, “F— crazy, yeah, I’ve been busy, I haven’t been keeping up with the gossip. He comes back, he’s either back today or came back yesterday, whatever, he’s in Thailand. So we’ll be home tonight and Tuesday, we’ll figure this out.”

Then came another twist: Francis Ngannou. A reporter brought up Jones’ preference to fight Ngannou over Aspinall as the undisputed heavyweight champion had recently claimed, “That’s a real super fight.” White could only laugh. After all, this is the same man he had once vowed would “never be in the UFC again.”

“Jon Jones is home [from Thailand]. We’ll be back tonight. Tuesday, we’ll figure this out.”

– Dana White on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall#UFC316 pic.twitter.com/jzuDxEu7GI

— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) June 8, 2025

Yet when pressed further about the possibility of Jones ‘ducking’ Tom Aspinall, White bluntly shared, “Tom Aspinall’s the guy, he’s the guy. Listen if the guy wants to retire, and doesn’t wanna fight, nothing you can do. I didn’t want Khabib to retire, I didn’t want… I thought DC should’ve stayed in longer, so, it’s none of my business. I’ll do what I can to make the fight if we can, if he’s talking that crazy s—, I didn’t realize that.”

The UFC boss isn’t wrong here. Tom Aspinall is currently the longest reigning interim champion in UFC history since he captured the crown by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Since then, he’s made a case for unification more concrete by defending the belt against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Yet, still no signs of a clash against Jones on the horizon.

And the fans? They’ve taken matters into their own hands with a petition that currently sits at 187,691 signatures on Change.org. However, when the movement was brought to Dana White’s attention, he had an interesting response, to say the least!

White shuts down the fans’ petition to strip ‘Bones’ by calling it “silly”

When a reporter brought up the petition to strip Jon Jones to Dana White at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, let’s just say he wasn’t exactly swayed. White fired back with, “Every human on earth was DMing it to me, and yeah, I saw it.”

So, is he going to do anything about it? When reminded of his ‘fan-first’ approach towards the sport, the UFC boss responded with, “How many fans are there worldwide? What’s the number? Like 400 million or something like that, 130,000 people want to see him stripped. ”

While the number is closer to 200,000, White wasn’t having it as he shut down the door with, “I’m not saying that… it’s just kinda f—- silly”. In other words, don’t hold your breath.

And as for Jones? He couldn’t resist taking a jab as he wrote on X, “Instead of signing some petition, I’m gonna need at least 200 five-page essays from TA fans around the world. Double spaced, MLA format. Convince me. My team will pick their favorites and get back to you… eventually.”

In the end, for a promotion that prides itself on meritocracy and giving fans the fights they want, letting this drama drag on sends the wrong message. Jon Jones may be a legend, but the belt should move with the division, not stay locked away in limbo. The fans? Nearly 200,000 strong, screaming into the void with a petition that’s now met with shrugs and sarcasm.

That leaves us with more questions than answers. Will Jon Jones return to unify the belts? Will the UFC and Dana White finally pull the trigger and strip him? Or will Francis Ngannou rise from the shadows for a clash years in the making? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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