Dana White doubled down Tuesday on his promise that former UFC two-division champion Jon Jones will not be involved in the promotion’s upcoming White House card in 2026. The UFC CEO’s comments came on the heels of an ongoing campaign by Jones to land on the historic event, which has seen Jones release promotional videos advocating for his inclusion as well as a recent plea for a “face-to-face” with White to apologize for the manner in which Jones handled the failed talks for a Tom Aspinall bout.
Speaking Tuesday on comedian Andrew Schultz’s “Flagrant” podcast, White reiterated that he cannot trust Jones to be thrust into a position to impact the expected June 2026 card. White also reaffirmed his faith in UFC star Conor McGregor to fill the role if needed, despite McGregor’s withdrawal from a scheduled June 2024 comeback bout against Michael Chandler at UFC 303.
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Said White:
“I haven’t said yes or no to anybody yet, but I can’t put Jon Jones in a position where he can [effect this]. I had a deal with him — we had a deal to fight Tom Aspinall. We had a deal and he said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to do it.’ I can’t be in that position. I’ve got to have someone [reliable].
People talk s*** about [Conor] McGregor — McGregor, when you walk in the room and you’re three days out from the fight, and you’re like, ‘Your opponent fell out,’ [McGregor says,] ‘Alright, well, I’m going to the gym. When I get done working out, let me know who I’m fighting.’ He doesn’t give a s***, doesn’t want any input, doesn’t get 30 people on the phone. ‘What do you think about this? What do you think?’ [Instead it’s,] ‘Just let me know who I’m fighting.’ So you can say what you want about Conor — Conor’s been that guy for us.”
White said he and UFC officials plan to start outlining what the White House lineup will look like in February. McGregor’s longtime coach, John Kavanagh, told Uncrowned on Monday that the Irishman and his team and already training and preparing as if the White House fight is theirs.
“On our end, we’re 100% in,” Kavanagh said in-studio on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “[McGregor has] asked me to basically lay out a program between now and June of how we’ll ramp up the training. He’s showing up again. He’s back in the gym most mornings, early. He’s just having fun with it.”
The UFC boss’ latest comments are another blow to Jones, who expressed regrets earlier this month about his handling of the ill-fated Aspinall unification bout. Jones requested $30 million to fight Aspinall and was ultimately offered that by UFC, according to Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani, but declined anyway.
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As Jones recently told the “No Scripts” podcast:
“We had a verbal agreement that didn’t go over well. Nothing was finalized. But, I do admit guilt — not guilt, but I was wrong. The way things went down, I was wrong. And I wish I could see him face-to-face and just apologize to him, so that we can let bygones be bygones and get back to making some major money for the sport and really entertaining these fans.”
Jones ultimately vacated his UFC heavyweight belt and announced his retirement rather than fight Aspinall, only to walk back that retirement shortly thereafter.
Myriad fighters have called for their opportunity to feature on the UFC’s White House card in recent months, including pound-for-pound No. 1 and new UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to become a two-division champion this past weekend at UFC 322. White said in the hours after UFC 322 that he was open to Makhachev’s inclusion and noted that the UFC is not designing the card with an “America vs. the world” theme.
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“I’m going to put on, obviously, the card that people expect to be at the White House,” White reiterated Tuesday. “That’s what I’m going to put together.”
