Dana White revealed this week that patience is wearing thin regarding a potential title unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Heavyweight champion Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) returned to action at UFC 309 in November following a prolonged injury absence to defend his belt against former title holder Stipe Miocic.
During his time on the sidelines, Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to become the interim champion before going on to defend that belt by finishing Curtis Blaydes last July.
Aspinall has repeatedly pleaded for the opportunity to face Jones, but "Bones" has flat out refused to grant his wish, even stating that he may either vacate the heavyweight title or retire, rather than fight the British contender.
Speaking after UFC Tampa in December, Dana White was adamant the unification bout would be made in 2025.
"I'll say 100% (the fight happens)" said the UFC president. "I think it's probably the biggest fight in heavyweight history, and it's a massive fight in the history of the company too. It's a big fight".
When asked for an update on the situation this week, however, White revealed that, although the UFC are still trying to get the fight over the line, he and his team of matchmakers are ready to move on in the event that Jones can't be convinced to agree to face Aspinall.
"It's the biggest fight that we can make" White told the Mac Life, "and I know the fans like to mess with Jon or whatever. Jon Jones isn't afraid of anybody and Jon Jones will fight anybody. It's just a matter of getting the fight done now, that's our job.
"100%" he replied when asked if the UFC might strip Jones should the he refuse to face Aspinall. "If we don't get the fight done, we move on and we make another fight. But, not last night, but the night before, I was up in my room with my people until like, 6 in the morning. We're working on lots of stuff right now, there's lots of really good sh** going on right now".
