Dana White hopes Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic winner unifies with Tom Aspinall: 'If both retire, f*cking that'll suck'

[Goutfather]

if jones wins, i understand if he retires. he’s effectively undefeated, and proved about all he can. not sure he’d beat tom, but i’m sure a younger version probably would. if he beat tom, people would forget about it, like they did the rest of his wins.

stipe has already lost a few times, so simply beating jon is not enough. if he wants to go down as the best, he has to derail one last hype train. beating tom probably seals it. if he retires, then he goes down as one of the best, but not the best.

 

[JosephTessaro]

Credit to MMAjunkie for the article. Perhaps is Dana wasn't such a greedy prick, he wouldn't be facing the predicament he is, where the lineal champion could very well retire and devalue the next generation of fighters. Nobody fucking cares about Jon/Stipe anyway...or do you? Thoughts? Is it a worthwhile gamble or dumb as fuck?

Dana White hopes Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic winner unifies with Tom Aspinall: 'If both retire, f*cking that'll suck'

Dana White thinks Stipe Miocic will retire after his next fight but Jon Jones’ “competitive spirit” will see him face Tom Aspinall.

mmajunkie.usatoday.com

It was a bummer waiting 3 years for Jon to get himself ready for the HW division. it's a bummer they couldn't put together the Ngannou fight during that time. Ngannou leaves, Jones dominates Gane, then suffers a major injury keeping him on the shelf another 1.5 years maybe even 2.

It sucks we have been waiting for Jones to get healthy and watching Aspinall dominate.

Although I would love nothing more to see the winner of Jones/Miocic (probably Jones) face Aspinall, I don't think it would devalue the current or upcoming generation of HW's if either or both retire.

There will always be "what if they fought" fights, but at least the division can move forward.

 

[AmonTobin]

It's highly likely they both retire. That's why they keep this Aspinall interim belt alive. Jones will try to force an absolute bag out of Dana to fight Aspinall. Dana will offer him some 20% off coupons for Venom gear and then claim that Jones is being ridiculous for not accepting.

Agreed. Most likely scenario. But before he goes, Jones will ask for exorbitant amounts of money anyway, just to appear interested. (*See Ngannou Saga).
Aspinall will say "If he's getting 20M, I want 5M. It's only fair." The fight will fall through, of course, and Jones nutjobs will say "Aspinall ran from Jones!".

 

[HuskySamoan]

If they both retire it won't suck at all, Dana. Many of us are expecting as much, and the HW division can finally get on with the show.

There's no show to get onto, who's Aspinall gonna fight? Gane, who's done nothing to deserve a 3rd title shot? A rematch with Volkov? A trilogy with Blaydes? Who the fucks left for Tom? They gonna re-sign Ngannou?

 

[AmonTobin]

There's no show to get onto, who's Aspinall gonna fight? Gane, who's done nothing to deserve a 3rd title shot? A rematch with Volkov? A trilogy with Blaydes? Who the fucks left for Tom? They gonna re-sign Ngannou?

Lol. Ya the division is certainly not robust. And he's already done most of his division cleaning. Pereira? Volkov 2?
I don't think Gane should be anywhere near a 3rd title shot without earning it.
At least the belt will be back in undisputed hands. That seems like a good start.

 

[KO Shotz]

So true. Put old man Stipe out to pasture. I don't know why they keep pushing this fight because Jones vs Aspinall would be absolutely massive right now. I kinda feel like Jones knows he might get knocked out though and doesn't wanna hand his legacy over to Tom.

I think Bones loves a challenge & wouldn't shy away from one, &still believes he can beat anyone so I think he would take a fight against Tom.

& yes, Bones vs Aspinall would be huge especially right now.

 

[Limit Smasher]

I think Bones loves a challenge & wouldn't shy away from one, &still believes he can beat anyone so I think he would take a fight against Tom.

& yes, Bones vs Aspinall would be huge especially right now.

I think so too. There’s always a chance Tom catches Jones but if there’s one thing Jones has shown throughout his career is that his chin is granite. His skills are phenomenal but Jones chin has absolutely been his saviour multiple times. Has he ever even been rocked?

 

[nonoob]

Stipe earned the respect of the fans, a great Champion with honor. Fought the best HWs in the UFC for years and won the HW belt from DC. Stipe eventually lost the belt to Francis, the best and most dominant HW seen in years.

Jones spent years without the courage to fight DC, for the Belt or not, at HW.

This is the first and only time in UFC history a coward has held the HW "title". Fans KNOW Jon never wanted ANY Piece of Stipe The Champ during his best years.
We will be glad when, or IF, Stipe finally gets to fight Jones. After almost a full decade Jon's cowardice may finally have been put in check...MAYBE.

 

[tucan89]

I mean you could pay them boxer money idk just a thought.

Literally have no interest in a Stipe fight in 2024

 

[Thepaintbucket]

if jones wins, i understand if he retires. he’s effectively undefeated, and proved about all he can. not sure he’d beat tom, but i’m sure a younger version probably would. if he beat tom, people would forget about it, like they did the rest of his wins.

stipe has already lost a few times, so simply beating jon is not enough. if he wants to go down as the best, he has to derail one last hype train. beating tom probably seals it. if he retires, then he goes down as one of the best, but not the best.

Let me get this straight, so Jon will prove all he can by beating a 42-year-old ex champion who hasn't fought in over 3 years after getting brutally kod. But this same 42 year old has to fight Tom Aspinall to prove himself? I don't agree brotha"

If you have the official championship belt around your waist you should be defending it against the rightful number one contender

 

[Goutfather]

Let me get this straight, so Jon will prove all he can by beating a 42-year-old ez champion who hasn't fought in over 3 years after getting brutally kod. But this same 42 year old has to fight Tom Aspinall to prove himself? I don't agree brotha"

yeah. jon is getting old. it’s no secret. if he retired today, he’d probably go down as the best. stipe is not in the same situation. if stipe retired today, he’d have a tentative claim to being the best hw, but it would probably be surpassed soon. beating jon solidifies his claim, but there’s also the fact that jon is naturally smaller, and past prime. to erase all doubt, i think stipe has to beat tom.

tom is part of a new title lineage. tbh, he doesn’t gain much from beating his elders, and risks quite a lot if he loses. being “the guy who conclusively beat jon jones” is worth something i guess. but his best move is to just rack up interim title defenses.

 

[PaulieVegas27]

You allowed Jones to "grease" you into this position, Dana. You have no one to blame but yourself.

 

[Uber_Noober]

If the fight goes through, I hope Stipe shocks the world with a fabulous ko. Option two, is Stipe gets injured before the fight and Aspinall steps in and Jones has no other option but to take the fight.

 

[ultra321]

FFS.... At this point I have no fucking Idea why they are going to beat this dead horse of a fight from here to eternity..
Jones vs Aspinall is the only relevant fight at this point...

 

[Your Salad]

Ya would be kinda cool if enough fight fans boycotted this one just to send a message.

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

Stipe has more to gain from defending than Jones does imo.

It wouldn’t be a jones payday, but it should handily be his biggest purse besides jones.

Dude is an American who can’t speak English, so what harm is a little more cte?

 

[Neck&Neck]

 

[KO Shotz]

I think so too. There’s always a chance Tom catches Jones but if there’s one thing Jones has shown throughout his career is that his chin is granite. His skills are phenomenal but Jones chin has absolutely been his saviour multiple times. Has he ever even been rocked?

I've never seen him wobbled, but he did eat some shots from Machida & Gus.

 

[wildchild88]

Jones would be dumb to take that fight.

A loss would completely change his legacy.

 

[Pizza Werewolf]

Even if Both Jones and Stipe don't retire you know their old asses are gonna have some medical issue which will put them out for at least a year.