Jon Anik Agrees with Dana White: “Jones Didn’t Want the Aspinall Fight”

Jon Anik is siding with Dana White when it comes to the Jon Jones saga.

While still the UFC heavyweight champion, Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) initially agreed to face then-interim champion Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for a reported $30 million payday. However, he later changed his mind and announced his retirement.

Not long after, Jones reversed course again following the UFC’s announcement of an upcoming event at the White House in 2026. He has since been campaigning for a fight against current 205-pound champion Alex Pereira at that milestone event.

White has repeatedly dismissed the idea, citing the drawn-out Jones-Aspinall negotiations as the reason he no longer trusts “Bones.” UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik agrees with the UFC president’s stance.

"He didn't want the Tom Aspinall fight," Anik said on his Anik & Florian Podcast with Kenny Florian. "There was legacy-preservation going on. He verbally agreed to a robust number, then went back on his word. He is apologizing and saying he was wrong.

“Even though I don't see him as a natural heavyweight and I have a nature to see him to fight 'Poatan,' Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, while it's not Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, for me, it's the one that got away and that is a fight that I was more intrigued to see than Jon Jones vs. 'Poatan,' and I think I'm aligned with the big boss there."

A Glimmer of Hope?

With Aspinall’s recent title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 ending in a ‘no contest’, it’s likely the Brit will face Gane in a rematch early in 2026. That turn of events could open the door for Jones to return against Pereira, and both fighters have made it clear that they would be interested in the fight.

"Clearly Jon Jones wants the 'Poatan' fight,” Anik said. “He wants it at the White House," Anik said. "There are some rumblings maybe it wouldn't be on President Trump's birthday, June 14 I think it is, and it would be at some other point in time. Jon Jones would need the discipline to have a training camp and obviously the Alex Pereira training camp takes on an entirely different tone than a Tom Aspinall training camp, even if Jon believes Aspinall's wrestling and grappling is overrated."