Dana White Defends Jon Jones After Shock UFC Retirement: ‘He Never Ducked Anybody’

UFC CEO, Dana White has once more gone to bat for former heavyweight champion, Jon Jones after revealing his stunning retirment night, firmly claiming the Rochester native did not “duck” a fight with Tom Aspinall — or anybody else during his run.

Overnight, Jones confirmed his retirement from combat sports with immediate effect — relinquishing his portion of the heavyweight championship in the process. And as a result, Atherton native, Aspinall has been promoted to undisputed titleholder.

“Today, I’m officially announcing my retirement from the UFC,” Jon Jones’ statement on X read. “This decision comes after a lot of reflection, and I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the journey I’ve experienced over the years. From the first time I stepped into the Octagon, my goal was to push the boundaries of what was possible in this sport.

But interestingly, this evening, White revealed that Jones had initially agreed to fight Aspinall later this year, and a deal had been brokered, too. However, the former pound-for-pound number later renaged on the deal and decided against fighting Aspinall in a title unification clash.

“We were talking about it before that, but yeah, the fight [between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall] was done, we had the fight done a long time ago, so why he decided not to fight, you guys will have to ask him that,” White told The Mac Life this weekend.

“Listen, he was offered what he deserves for that fight [with Aspinall], yeah,” White continued.

Dana White defends Jon Jones from “ducking” claims

And during that same interview, the long-time promotional boss defended claims from fans and even pundits alike that Jones had “ducked” a fight with the British star — maintaining during his tenure with the promotion, he never denied fighting anybody offered to him.

“I said it a million times, I’ll say it again,” White said. He’s never ducked anybody — other than that one goofy time with the Chael Sonnen thing, he’s never ducked anybody. I think what the reality is — whatever changed his mind with this fight, I don’t know. …He’s 38-years-old, and I don’t know.”