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Dana White reveals secret Jon Jones talks after apology for Tom Aspinall fight falling apart

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Donagh Corby | Last updated Nov 16, 2025 6:43 AM ET

Dana White has admitted that he and Jon Jones recently had their first chat in months amid fan speculation.

The iconic former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight double champion sensationally retired this summer, instead of unifying the division against Tom Aspinall. He had already verbally agreed a deal with White in theory, and there was a plan in place that he messed up.

Since that happened, it has been confirmed that the UFC will stage a massive show on the White House lawn. This appears to have re-invigorated Jones, who came out of retirement in order to fight on the event – despite White insisting he has no chance of being booked.

Dana White has spoken to Jon Jones in recent weeks

In the last few weeks, Jon Jones has expressed his regret for what he put Dana White and the UFC through as a result of his pulling out of the verbal Aspinall deal. He even publicly apologized to the promotion and his old boss during a recent podcast.

This prompted White to insist there was nothing to apologize for, but continue to declare that the card was for more reliable fighters. However, following UFC 322 the UFC boss confirmed that he had been in talks with Jones this week after a period of silence between the two parties.

After previously declaring there was nothing to apologize for, one journalist cheekily asked if that meant he was also off the hook for an incident in 2012 where he refused to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice, causing the promotion to cancel a pay-per-view event in UFC 151.

“I don’t know if he did,” White laughed when asked if Jones had apologized for that incident. “I don’t think so, I think that he was in a position where he had coaches and a team and they all wanted to have input into what he did and he listened to them.

“It was f—ing crazy, yeah. I talked to Jon Jones last night, actually. I got nothing to say about it, I was just talking to him last night.”

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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