Dana White thinks Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is the only ‘Super Fight’ MMA fans are interested in seeing.
On October 19, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made his long-awaited PFL debut at the promotion’s ‘Battle of the Giants’ pay-per-view for a clash with the Renan Ferreira—the 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner. ‘Problema’ earned his opportunity to face Ngannou via a 21-second knockout of Bellator titleholder Ryan Bader.
Unfortunately, Ferreira couldn’t replicate his dominant performance against ‘The Predator.’
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Ngannou practically walked through Ferreira in the evening’s headliner, scoring a first-round TKO after putting ‘Problema’ on the mat and pounding out his first MMA win since January 2022.
As for what Dana White thought of Ngannou’s performance…
“It was better than Donn Davis,” White told reporters at the Power Slap 9 press conference. “Way better.”
Dana White is asked what he thought of Francis Ngannou's performance at Battle of The Giants. pic.twitter.com/nh7hn7QMWB
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) October 24, 2024
Dana White Insists Jones vs. Aspinall is the Only Heavyweight Fight Fans Truly Want
“I think fans are dreaming about Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall,” White continued. “That’s the fight I think they’re dreaming about. I think that if Stipe [Miocic] wins the fight, or that Jones wins the fight, the way that both of those guys are wired, I think they fight Aspinall. I think that Stipe and Jon, whoever wins, should give Aspinall the same opportunity they had.”
Jones is scheduled to defend his gold against Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16 with the winner moving on to unify their title with Aspinall’s interim belt—hopefully.
“Obviously, everybody loves Tom Aspinall and wants to see Jones and Aspinall, or Stipe and Aspinall,” White said. “I feel like when Stipe and Jon were young — Jon was 23, the youngest champion in UFC history — somebody gave him an opportunity. I think that Stipe and Jon, whoever wins should give Aspinall the same opportunity they had.”
Both Jones and Miocic have teased retirement following their long-awaited clash at Madison Square Garden, but White believes it’s nothing more than a negotiation tactic.
“I think both Jon and Stipe will say they’re going to retire because they’re going to start negotiating,” White said. “And what the negotiation is, we will get the deal done.”
Watch White’s full comments below:
