Ben Askren Questions Jones Vs. Miocic – ‘Jon’s Got Some Dirt On Dana’
Ben Askren has questioned Dana White’s decision to allow Jon Jones to fight Stipe Miocic rather than face Tom Aspinall next.
Jones is expected to fight Stipe by the end of this year as he works his way back from injury. He injured his pectoral muscle in sparring, meaning he could not defend his heavyweight title at UFC 295. Aspinall wanted the UFC to strip Jones, allowing him to face Miocic for the full title. That never happened, meaning that Aspinall had to fight for the interim belt.
He knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 to win the belt. Tom then defended it successfully with a first-round stoppage against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. But rather than making Jones face Aspinall next, White has doubled down on the Miocic fight.
Askren Reacts
This goes against his traditional narrative of making the best fights, which he has criticized boxing for doing. Stipe is 41 and no longer seen as an elite heavyweight. Meanwhile, Jones has hinted that he could retire, preventing fans from seeing the Aspinall fight. Askren felt there may be something going on behind the scenes.
“I almost feel like maybe Jon’s got some dirt on Dana or something, because Dana generally would not put up with this type of behavior. He would say, and this is what the UFC is founded on where boxing [wasn’t], is, ‘We want the best guys to fight.
“We want to see who the actual best guy is. We don’t want to waste time with shenanigans, we won’t want to pad records to go to 40-0, we don’t do that, that’s what boxing does. In the UFC, we put the best guys in there and see who wins,” Askren said
White’s View
White justified it on the basis that Jones and Miocic have earned their right to face each other based on their achievements. White praised Mioicic, who has won the heavyweight title on two occasions. Meanwhile, Dana has often regarded Jones as the best MMA fighter of all time. Miocic will also retire after the Jones fight, as per White, giving him the chance to end his career on a high.
This only becomes an issue if Jones also retires after the fight. Fans were already deprived of seeing Francis Ngannou face Jones after he left the UFC. Contract talks failed, as Ngannou would sign with the PFL. White has refused to do a co-promotion with the PFL, as that fight is now off the table. Askren felt something similar could happen again.
“So the fact that Jon is being — I don’t want to say, [I don’t know] if allowed is the right term, but Dana’s playing along, and letting him and Stipe fight. Stipe is going to be close to four years [since his last fight] by the time they ever fight…
“You have this young interim champion, he’s a beast, just smashes people, and the fact that they won’t put them in there together — and then there’s this good [chance] that Jon beats Stipe and then says, ‘I’m done, I’m gone.’ And then you never get to see [Jones vs. Aspinall],” Askren added
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