Dana White is getting a little fed up when it comes to the conversation about Jon Jones and whether or not he was ever in serious considering for a spot on the UFC White House card.
Despite stating numerous times that he never planned on Jones competing at the historic event in June, White has fielded questions about failed negotiations and more recently the financial offer apparently made in an attempt to book him against Alex Pereira. Jones claimed he was offered $15 million for the fight but the UFC wouldn’t budge on his asking price when he sought a better payout to face Pereira.
But White says ultimately the matchmakers presented him with options for the event and he selected the matchups — and Jones wasn’t getting a slot on the UFC White House card no matter what.
“Who gives a shit?” White said at the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference when asked about Jones. “I’ve already talked about this a million times. Jon knows what happened.”
Over the past few years, White has vehemently defended Jones as the greatest of all-time and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport even as he remained sidelined while other athletes like Islam Makhachev were actively tearing through deeper divisions like lightweight.
But when it comes to the UFC White House card, White vowed that Jones wouldn’t get selected for that event simply because he wasn’t dependable enough.
Jones has been forced out of fights for legal issues outside the cage including an infamous hit-and-run accident in 2015 that eventually led to him relinquishing his UFC title and he also had to drop out of UFC 200 when he tested positive for a banned substance.
White has said those repeated issues just gave him too much pause to put Jones on the UFC White House card and that never changed. It doesn’t mean that White suddenly despises Jones after speaking his praises non-stop over the past few years.
“So first of all, leading up to this whatever this is, [all I say is] Jon Jones is the GOAT, he’s the greatest ever and everybody’s talking about how I’m blowing Jon Jones all the time,” White said. “Now this falls out, what I f*cking hate Jon Jones, and I’m trying to destroy Jon Jones now or whatever?
“Jon Jones knows exactly what happened and this happens every week at the UFC. There’s all kinds of negotiations going on.”
Jones hasn’t fought since he finished Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in 2024 in his first and only defense as heavyweight champion. He was in talks to unify the titles with then interim champion Tom Aspinall but instead Jones decided to retire from the sport.
He later declared his plans to fight again after the UFC White House card was announced but obviously that’s not happening.
“You think Jon Jones is clamoring to fight?” White said. “We have to give this guy three fights a year if he really wants to fight. Legally, we have to give him three fights a year if Jon Jones is chomping at the bit to fight. If we don’t, we have to pay him.”
White previously stated that for all intents and purposes, he considered Jones retired, although the former two-division UFC champion hasn’t said that himself.
Regardless, it appears White is ready to move on from this particular topic, especially with the UFC White House card already finalized and Jones obviously isn’t fighting there.
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