Dana White names the one opponent Jon Jones ducked amid Tom Aspinall fallout

UFC 309: Jones v Miocic - Source: Getty
Jon Jones (left foreground) did not duck Tom Aspinall (middle background) in the eyes of Dana White but there is one mixed martial artist who 'Bones' may have ducked during his UFC tenure [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Jon Jones ducking Tom Aspinall is an assertion that Dana White refuses to admit. But, there was one fighter along the UFC journey of 'Bones' who White may have felt Jones ducked out on fighting.

In a video interview recorded by Oscar Willis of The Mac Life, with an excerpt of the video being shared by X user @acdmma_, White covered several subjects after the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford press conference he was part of.

Many are obviously fascinated about Jon Jones retiring and interim champion Tom Aspinall becoming the champion overall with Jones opting to hang up the gloves.

When plainly asked head-on by Willis if Jones was ducking Aspinall by electing to retire and relinquish his hold on the UFC heavyweight gold, White said:

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"No, Jon Jones; I said it a million times, I'll say it again, he's never ducked anybody. Other than that one goofy time with the Chael Sonnen thing, he's never ducked anybody. I think the reality is, whatever changed his mind with this fight, I don't know you'd have to ask him that, but he's 38 years old and I don't know."

Check out Dana White addressing whether Jon Jones has ducked anybody below:


Jon Jones and "that one goofy time with" Chael Sonnen

The singular time that Dana White somewhat concedes does seem like Jon Jones engaging in quasi-ducking behaviour saw a butterfly effect where the UFC had to cancel their first card. Jones was initially scheduled to defend his light heavyweight crown against former two-division Pride FC titleholder Dan Henderson at UFC 151 in September 2012.

The 37-year-old would be without an opponent on eight days' notice when Henderson had to bow out of the card after suffering an MCL injury. Chael Sonnen made it abundantly clear to Dana White that he would be willing to step up and fill the vacancy in the title fight on short notice, but the reigning titleholder was not as willing to take the fight.

Jones and his team refused to accept the last-minute bout offer, which resulted in White eventually referring to Jones' then-coach Greg Jackson as a 'sport killer' for the decision not to take on the fight with 'The American Gangster.'

The Rochester native mentioned during a recent interview on the Full Send Podcast that this situation was the biggest dust-up that he has ever had with White.

Jones would go on to coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Sonnen, with the former eventually finishing the latter via strikes in the first round of their UFC 159 light heavyweight title fight.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi
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