According to Joe Rogan, who spoke directly to UFC President Dana White, current heavyweight champion Jon Jones has not asked for $30 million to defend his title against interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Rogan reported Jones’ rumored asking price on a recent episode of his podcast. However, Rogan said White called him and said those numbers are “bull$###.”
The fight still feels like a lock to happen in 2025, but apparently, we won’t necessarily know how much Jones or Aspinall will be paid for their efforts in what most are calling the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history.
Jones, 37, is coming off a resounding victory at UFC 309 that saw him destroy Stipe Miocic with a spinning back kick in the third round. The win gave Jones his first successful defense of the UFC heavyweight championship.
However, many criticized Jones for fighting the aging Miocic and not pivoting to fight Aspinall, a younger and seemingly more dangerous fighter who holds the interim title.
Jones repeatedly shut down the importance or necessity of facing Aspinall, whom he verbally dismissed as the latest flash in the pan, à la Johnny Walker, Dominick Reyes, or Volkan Oezdemir.
While Jones downplayed his need to beat Aspinall, White maintained his belief that the former would ultimately defend his title against the latter.
Aspinall has run roughshod through everyone he’s faced in the UFC, earning a stoppage in each of his wins. In July 2024, at UFC 304, Aspinall avenged his lone loss in the UFC when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the first round.
Aspinall’s loss to Blaydes in July 2022 came because of a knee injury in the first round. Since that setback, Aspinall has recorded three first-round finishes over Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavlovich, and Blaydes.
None of the fights lasted longer than 73 seconds. Many wonder if Aspinall, 31, will be the man who finally solves Jones.
Aspinall’s youth, well-roundedness, and finish rate are the biggest reasons he could be favored heading into a fight with Jones.
At some point, we should get the answer to that question, but the “F-you money” Jones requested might not be as much as originally rumored.
What’s Next in the UFC?
The No. 1 MMA promotion is back on Saturday, January 11, with a card at the Apex in Las Vegas. Mackenzie Dern will fight Amanda Ribas in a rematch of their 2019 meeting. Ribas won the first fight, and Dern will be looking to even the score with her countrywoman.
Here is a look at the entire card.
UFC Vegas 101 Main Card
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris
- César Almeida vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Austin Bashi
- Punahele Soriano vs. Uroš Medić
UFC Vegas 101 Preliminary Card
- Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes
- Marco Tulio vs. Ihor Potieria
- Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden
- Preston Parsons vs. Jacobe Smith
- Ernesta Kareckaitė vs. Nicolle Caliari
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes
- Fatima Kline vs. Victoria Dudakova
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Joe Salecki
