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Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Dana White: We'll Have Answers On Jones Vs. Aspinall In A Couple Weeks
It sounds as if UFC CEO Dana White might be growing tired of the waiting game when it comes to a title unification bout between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and interim champ Tom Aspinall. "We'll see how this thing plays out over the next couple of weeks," White recently told Jim Rome. 'If we can't get this fight done, we'll move on quickly. ... We'll have answers in the next couple weeks.' One thing that White has made clear throughout this lengthy process is that Jones is not one to 'run' from other fighters. The UFC boss reiterated that when speaking to Rome. "Jon Jones has never, ever said, 'I'm afraid to fight this guy,' or 'I don't like this fight for me,' or any of that stuff," White said. "One time, his coach at the time, back in the day – I don't know if he's still with him or whatever. I think it's the only fight we've ever canceled. I had to cancel a show because he wouldn't fight Chael Sonnen, because his coach thought it was a bad idea to take that fight on late notice, but it had nothing to do with Jon Jones. "Jon Jones has never turned down an opponent here or been afraid to fight anybody." Earlier this month, White said Jones had agreed to fight Aspinall. "It's definitely the process with Jon Jones," White said of the ongoing negotiations between the UFC and Jones at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference. "I've been going through this since the day he started this. It's definitely the process. Him and Anderson Silva, every time throughout the history of being in business with those guys when it comes time to get them fights, it's like dealing with artists. It's interesting. "It's Aspinall's fight. We've been talking to this kid forever about it and it's his fight. Listen, you can't make people fight. If Jon doesn't want to fight, you can't make him fight. We can try to make him fight. We can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight but we'll figure it out." "But yes, Jon agreed to fight Tom, fact," White added in closing. Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. In early June, Aspinall seemed frustrated by how long it is taking to get a title unification bout booked, going so far as to declare that Jones has retired. "Jon Jones is retired," Aspinall said. "I want to say God bless him moving forward in what he does with his life and career. We move on. I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers and get this division moving again. "Those guys have been waiting around too long. The contenders are getting sick of it. Everybody's getting sick of it. Even the fans are getting sick of this stuff. So, Jon's retired and it's time that we move on. "I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers, get this division moving again. Us guys have been waiting around too long. The guys, contenders are getting sick of it, everybody's getting sick of it, even the fans are getting sick of it. Jon's retired and it's time that we move on.' We will have more on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall as news becomes available.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Dricus Du Plessis Vs Khamzat Chimaev Opening Odds
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has his next title fight lined up. Du Plessis, who has defended his belt twice since winning the championship in January 2024, faces the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 319. UFC 319 takes place on Saturday, August 16, from United Center in Chicago, IL. According to BetOnline, Du Plessis opened as the +165 betting underdog to Chimaev, who was listed as the -190 betting favorite. The betting lines have moved slightly since then. Today, Du Plessis comes in at +160, while Chimaev is listed at -185. Dricus du Plessis (23-2) joined the UFC in October 2020 as a 26-year-old with a 14-2 record. Before he joined the UFC, Du Plessis had won titles with KSW and EFC. He made his debut against Markus Perez on the main card of a UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. Du Plessis knocked out Perez in the first round. He followed that win with a July 2021 'Performance of the Night' KO win of Trevin Giles. Those two wins earned him a shot against the ranked veteran Brad Tavares. Du Plessis won that scrap via decision. The victory put him in the top 15 of the division. A December 2022 submission win over Darren Till moved Du Plessis to No. 10 in the division. A TKO win over the No. 5 ranked Derek Brunson followed. Du Plessis, who was working his way up the rankings, faced a tough test in his next outing when he met the No. 2 ranked Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Du Plessis continued his rise, knocking out the former UFC champion in the UFC middleweight title eliminator and earning another 'Performance of the Night' bonus. More important than the bonus was the title shot Du Plessis received for that win. He faced then-champion Sean Strickland in January, taking the title from Strickland in a 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning scrap. In his first title defense Du Plessis picked up an August 2024 submission win over former UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis most recently faced Strickland in a rematch at UFC 312 in early February of this year. Du Plessis won that contest via unanimous decision. I wrote of the champ after that fight, "Dricus du Plessis looked much more controlled and less reckless at UFC 312 than in many of his previous battles. He mixed up his striking techniques and targets against Sean Strickland, landed the more powerful blows, and didn't put himself in too many awkward positions. "Du Plessis did a much better job in his UFC 312 rematch against Strickland in shutting down his foe's offense. In the first fight, Strickland landed 173 of 408 significant strikes. While in the rematch, Strickland was held to 128 landed strikes on 263 attempts. Meanwhile, Du Plessis increased his landed strikes and landing percentage from the first fight to the second. In the first battle, Du Plessis landed 137 of 354 attempts for a landing rate of 38 percent. At UFC 312, the champ landed 147 of 314 attempts for a striking rate of 46 percent. 'Du Plessis has defended the UFC middleweight crown twice while going 9-0 in the UFC. Despite his winning ways, the champ remains a bit of an enigma because his style shouldn't work — but it does.' Chimaev (14-0) is the No. 3 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. The 30-year-old made his UFC debut in July 2020 with a second-round submission win over John Phillips. He followed that victory with a first-round TKO over Rhys McKee 10 days later, breaking the UFC record for the quickest turnaround between UFC wins in the modern era. Then, in September, Chimaev knocked out Gerald Meerschaert. Things slowed down for Chimaev after that. He was booked to face Leon Edwards in December 2020, but that matchup never came to be despite multiple attempts to make the fight happen. The reason behind the numerous cancellations of Edwards vs. Chimaev was COVID-19. When Chimaev finally returned to the Octagon in October 2021, he made short work of Li Jingliang, scoring a submission at 3:16 of Round 1. In his next bout, Chimaev went the distance for the first time in his career, picking up a victory over Gilbert Burns. He followed that with a submission over Kevin Holland. A break of more than a year followed that victory. Chimaev's next outing was an October 2023 matchup against Kamaru Usman, a fight that Chimaev won via decision. A year after that, Chimaev made short work of Robert Whittaker, defeating the ex-UFC middleweight champ via submission (face crank) in the first round of their UFC 308 scrap. No additional fights have been officially announced for UFC 319. We will have more on Du Plessis vs. Chimaev and the UFC 319 fight card as fight night approaches.
