No truth to Jones vs Aspinall $30M fight, says White

Joe Rogan has retracted his claim that Jon Jones was asking for $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall in the UFC this year.

The popular podcaster had shared the news on his channel recently, but says that UFC President Dana White contacted him to dispel the rumour.

“I had heard a rumour that Jon Jones wanted $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall,” Rogan said.

“I did hear that rumour, and I did hear the UFC said yes, but it is not true.

“Dana contacted me and said that rumour was bullshit, so I felt obligated to tell everybody that was a fake rumour.”

Interim champion Aspinall has repeated expressed his desire to fight Jones, but the 37-year-old has been reluctant to accept.

White went on to discuss Jones’ next move, after the reigning UFC heavyweight champion defeated Stipe Miocic to defend his title in November 2024.

“Apparently Jon is thinking about retiring,” he said.

“And he should. He’s going to have to someday.

“I’m not saying he should retire, I’m saying he should think about it.”

While some UFC bookmakers are offering speculative odds on a fight between Jones and Aspinall in 2025, White believes that if the two are to meet, it will not be for some time.

“Give the man all the time he wants,” he said.

“He can fight whenever he wants to fight.

“That’s Jon Jones. He’s the GOAT. So leave him alone.

“If he decides one day to come back, and he comes back and wants to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title… the question is, how long are you allowed to hold onto the title before they start having that conversation?

“Now, he just knocked out Stipe Miocic, so give the man months. Give the man five or six months.

“Just leave him the f*** alone.

“But at a certain point in time, you have to decide who the heavyweight champion is.

“If Tom is the interim heavyweight champion and Jon decides he doesn’t want to fight anymore, he could do that — and he could do that, come back in a year and fight for the title.

“He can do that. He can do whatever he wants.”

In the meantime, UFC action begins again for the year this Saturday, January 11 with 14 fights at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A rematch between women’s strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas headlines the event, with the latter a $1.62 favourite to win across top betting apps.

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