‘Not Even Thinking About Him’- Dana White Talks About Jon Jones’ Much Awaited Heavyweight Debut

Published 08/09/2021, 10:08 AM EDT

UFC President Dana White appeared for the UFC 265 post-event presser, where he discussed a lot of topics related to the event. The maverick entrepreneur also had few words to share about the possibility of seeing former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and former Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic.

Jones, who had announced earlier that he was looking towards 2022 for his much-awaited heavyweight debut, found his boss to agree with him regarding his move. “He’s not fighting till next year. It’s 2021. He’s not fighting until (2022). I’m not even thinking about him until ’22,” White said in the presser.

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It is quite clear that Jones wants to fight for the championship and nothing else prior to that. He would have made his debut this year if not for his continuous battle with UFC over fight pay issues. With Ciryl Gane taking on Francis Ngannou next after becoming interim champ, it will be awhile before he could come into the title picture.

Even if he is ready to rumble in the heaviest division of them all, it’s still not a surety that he could strike a deal over his required compensation. Fans may have to witness this waiting game stretching, it seems.

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While Jon has a fair share of issues to deal with UFC, it is not a pleasant sight for his fans to see their champ remaining on the sidelines. It is also hampering his own legacy of being one of the all-time greats.

Dana White on what’s next for Stipe Miocic

Just like Jones, there is another contender for the championship. Former Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic has also made his intentions clear about fighting for the title. He even had apprehension with UFC recently for not giving him an immediate rematch.

Miocic, who is perhaps the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, lost his gold to Francis Ngannou in a rematch at UFC 260. He had comfortably defended his gold against the same opponent back in 2018.

White, in the same interview, talked about Miocic’s present condition in the division. “I don’t know,” White said. “The beautiful thing about this division right now is we had this fight tonight.”

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“Now Francis versus Ciryl, you’ve got Jon Jones out there in 2022 and you got Stipe out there still, too. That means there’s a lot of fun coming up over the next year, year, and a half,” he added.

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It looks like the division is fully stacked up at the moment. The promotion has a problem of plenty to deal with in the coming months. Some interesting moments wait for us ahead.

What did you make of White’s statement?

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Akshyay Mahapatra is a UFC author for EssentiallySports. He wished to combine his passion for the UFC (that he has been following since 2008) as well as his love for writing. This motivated him to enter the world of combat sports journalism.

‘Not Even Thinking About Him’- Dana White Talks About Jon Jones’ Much Awaited Heavyweight Debut

Dana White on what’s next for Stipe Miocic

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