Dana White sees both sides when it comes to the UFC heavyweight division.
On one hand, interim champion Tom Aspinall wants to unify the title with Jon Jones and on the other, the undisputed king plans to defend the strap against former champ Stipe Miocic, which seems to be the plan for November in New York City. Jones and Miocic were supposed to fight at UFC 295 last November but Jones withdrew due to injury, leaving Miocic without an opponent and Aspinall an interim title to win in his wake.
White Heaps Praise On Aspinall
Aspinall’s definitely made an argument to fight Jones in the future (although Jones isn’t all that interested) with a successful title defense vs. Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 and eight UFC wins. Aspinall vs. Jones would be a fight for the ages, that is, if it ever takes place.
“There’s not enough being not not enough credit being given for this,” Dana White told Kevin Iole. “What he did to Curtis Blaydes, the way that he did it, and how fast he did it… there’s no doubt. This guy is a scary dude, and he looks like the future of the heavyweight division.”
White Says Miocic, Jones ‘Deserve To Fight Each Other’
While White believes Aspinall to be the future of the heavyweight division, the UFC CEO believes the present lies in a heavyweight title fight between Jones and Miocic. It might not make all the sense in the world with the legendary Miocic not having won in four years, this month, though White believes they owe it to each other to fight as they were supposed to last Fall, above all else.
“But at the same time, he’s working his way up,” White said of Aspinall. “He’s climbing up the ladder, and everybody’s like, he deserves this, and he deserves that… he doesn’t deserve anything. He looks great, and he looks like he’s gonna be the guy. You got Stipe and Jon, who have paid their dues. They’ve been here forever. They they fought everybody. They fought all the fights that you could possibly fight. These guys deserve to fight each other.
Will Aspinall Fight The Winner?
So, where does Tom Aspinall fit in all of this? Does he get passed up or get passed the torch?
“Whoever wins that fight, I think that they owe it to Aspinall to fight him and give him the opportunity that they’ve been given,” White added. “When you look at Jon Jones and Stipe, they beat all the guys, right? And you’re either gonna be the guy that’s gonna cement your legacy forever, or you’re gonna hand the torch off the way the torch was handed off to you guys by all the guys that came before you.”
With Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic nearing the end of their illustrious careers, we will have to wait and see about a potential fight between them and interim champ Tom Aspinall, who’s been busy updating his UFC resume.
