Former UFC fighter Ben Askren has recently expressed his disappointment with Jon Jones inactivity in the Octagon and he believes that the Heavyweight champion has some dirt on UFC CEO Dana White. Ben believes that the organization would not tolerate their champion’s long absence from the Octagon.
Jones is set to face Miocic
White is constantly praising “Bones” and calling him the GOAT, so Askren is quite suspicious. He believes that the promotion is tolerating Jones’ inactivity because he is holding White with his secrets. Jon Jones’ last fight was in March 2023 and now he is finally set to return in November and face Stipe Miocic. Fans are quite excited to see the matchup, but things have gotten a little complicated with the involvement of Tom Aspinall, who defeated Sergei Pavlovich last year to become the interim champion.
Now most of the MMA fans want to see Jon Jones clash with Tom Aspinall. The interim champion is usually matched up against the undisputed champion to decide who tops the division. However, Dana is adamant on forcing the Jones vs. Miocic matchup. Aspinall recently defended his interim title at UFC 304 against Curtis Blaydes by scoring a KO win and immediately also called out “Bones.”
Askren has some doubts
Ben Askren has his own theory on the matter, as he believes that Jones has some dirt on Dana White and sees it as the reason for the promotion allowing his inactivity. On the recent episode of Funky and the Champ, co-hosted by Daniel Cormier, both former fighters gave their opinion on the division.
Askren said, “I almost feel like maybe Jon’s got some dirt on Dana or something.” Funky also described the organization as different from the sport of boxing. The UFC often gets praise for setting up fights that fans want to see. Ben believes the organization was founded on this aspect and claims it is different from boxing, where the fans’ demands are often delayed.
Funky also predicted that Jon Jones will win his next fight because Stipe Miocic is way ahead of his prime and is reaching the age of 42. He also didn’t deny that both fighters will retire after this fight, leaving fans disappointed.
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Despite Aspinall being the interim champion, the promotion is adamant on Jones vs. Miocic and Dana recently defended the reasoning behind this fight. According to White, Stipe and Jon have paid their dues that’s why they deserve this fight. Recently, in an interview, the UFC president also said that Tom Aspinall doesn’t deserve this fight yet. This statement was widely criticized by the MMA community, as Aspinall scored an impressive knockout win in his last two fights. However, White did state that the winner of Miocic vs. Jones will definitely face Aspinall in a title fight.
