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UFC CEO Dana White Takes Hard Stance on Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira: 'No F***ing Way'

UFC CEO Dana White has plans for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones after his third-round TKO against Stipe Miocic.

Zain Bando

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White in attendance during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White in attendance during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

UFC CEO Dana White has made his stance clear – heavyweight champ Jon Jones won't be fighting light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira anytime in the near future.

Jones Stops Stipe Miocic At UFC 309

Jones' first heavyweight title defense, his second win since moving up to heavyweight in March 2023, was a masterclass performance against former champ Stipe Miocic.

Jones' third-round TKO finish was his 16th championship win over the last 13 years, dominating Miocic in every aspect.

Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was in attendance, part of a celebrity-filled crowd at Madison Square Garden. White wants to make the unification fight happen next year. Where and when is to be determined, but moving the division along is the goal.

The other elephant in the room is the Pereira fight. The Brazilian won three fights this year, quickly adapting to the 205-pound division since moving up from middleweight last April after losing to Israel Adesanya in their rematch.

UFC 309 Live Results & Highlights – Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Dana White Shoots Down UFC Fan's Dreams

While both fights are intriguing in their own right, White has made up his mind regarding Jones' future in MMA if he were to stick around.

"You know what tonight told me?" White asked. "There’s no f***ing way I make the [Jon Jones] vs Alex Pereira fight. Jon’s too big. Great wrestler.”

White has publicly repeated that Jones would fight Aspinall if he decided to not retire. Aspinall told TNT Sports post-fight that the fight played out exactly as he expected, criticizing Miocic's performance.

UFC 309 Winner Reminds Joe Rogan of Prime Conor McGregor

"That was by design," Aspinall said. "Exactly what I expected to be honest… in all honesty [Stipe] was too slow and old to land the shots.”

In the event of anything catastrophic, Aspinall would have been the backup fighter for UFC 309. He is fresh off a KO-win against Curtis Blaydes in July, successfully defending his interim belt.

For now, time will tell. But the UFC heavyweight division just got more interesting.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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