PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 07: Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White attends the UFC … [+]
According to Joe Rogan, who spoke directly with UFC president Dana White, current heavyweight champion Jon Jones has not demanded $30 million to defend his title against interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Rogan reported Jones’ rumored asking price on a recent episode of his podcast. However, Rogan said White called him and said those numbers are “bull$###.”
The fight still looks like a lock to take place in 2025, but apparently, we won’t necessarily know how much either Jones or Aspinall will be paid for their efforts in what many are calling the biggest bantamweight fight of all time. heavyweights in UFC history.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO … [+]
Jones, 37, is coming off an impressive victory at UFC 309 that saw him destroy Stipe Miocic with a third-round back kick. The victory gave Jones his first successful defense of the UFC heavyweight championship.
However, many criticized Jones for fighting the aging Miocic and not gearing up to fight Aspinall, a younger and seemingly more dangerous fighter who holds the interim title.
Jones repeatedly shut down the importance or necessity of facing Aspinall, who he verbally dismissed as the last flash in the pan, à la Johnny Walker, Dominick Reyes or Volkan Oezdemir.
While Jones downplayed his need to defeat Aspinall, White maintained his belief that the former would eventually defend his title against the latter.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 11: England’s Tom Aspinall reacts to beating Sergei Pavlovich of … [+]
Aspinall has come up short against everyone he has faced in the UFC, earning a stoppage in each of his victories. In July 2024, at UFC 304, Aspinall avenged his only UFC loss when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the first round.
Aspinall’s loss to Blaydes in July 2022 was due to a knee injury in the first round. Since that setback, Aspinall has recorded three first-round finishes over Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavlovich and Blaydes.
None of the fights lasted more than 73 seconds. Many wonder if Aspinall, 31, will be the man to finally unseat Jones.
Aspinall’s youth, poise and finishing level are the biggest reasons he could be favored in a fight with Jones.
At some point, we should get the answer to that question, but the “F-you money” demanded by Jones may not be as hyped at first.
What will happen in the UFC?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 08: Mackenzie Dern poses for a portrait during a UFC photo shoot at … [+]
Promotion no. 1 MMA returns on Saturday, January 11, with a card at Apex in Las Vegas. Mackenzie Dern will face Amanda Ribas in a rematch of their 2019 meeting. Ribas won the first match and Dern will be looking to match her compatriot’s score.
Here’s a look at the entire card.
UFC Vegas 101 main card
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris
- César Almeida v. Abdul Razak Alhassan
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Austin Bashi
- Punahele Soriano against Uroš Medić
UFC Vegas 101 Preliminary Card
- Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes
- Marco Tulio vs. Ihor Potieria
- Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden
- Preston Parsons v. Jacobe Smith
- Ernesta Kareckaitė against Nicolle Caliari
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes
- Fatima Kline vs. Victoria Dudakova
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Joe Salecki
