Joe Rogan backtracks on ‘fake rumour’ about UFC champion Jon Jones
The UFC’s president ‘contacted’ Rogan and ‘said that rumour is bulls***, so I felt obligated to tell everybody’
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Rogan has said he accidentally spread a “fake rumour” about Jon Jones and the heavyweight champion’s negotiations with the UFC.
Jones is reportedly in talks with the UFC over a title defence against Britain’s Tom Aspinall, who holds the interim heavyweight belt. However, the American previously said he would rather retire or face a different opponent than fight Aspinall.
That would deny Aspinall the usual opportunity presented to an interim champion: challenging the regular title holder to unify the belts. As a result, many fans have accused Jones, 37, of “ducking” Aspinall, 31.
But addressing negotiations between Jones and the UFC, Rogan said on a recent episode of his podcast: “The rumour is that [Jones] wants $30m, and the UFC is gotta pay it hopefully.”
Now Rogan, one of the most influential podcasters in the world but originally – and still occasionally – a UFC commentator, has backtracked on that claim.
“I had heard a rumour that Jon Jones wanted $30m to fight Tom Aspinall,” Rogan said on his latest podcast episode. “And I did hear that rumour, and I did hear that the UFC said ‘yes’.
“But that’s not true. Dana [White, UFC president] contacted me and said that rumour is bulls***, so I felt obligated to tell everybody: that was a fake rumour [...] We did that podcast two weeks ago. I don’t remember who told me that.”
Rogan continued: “Apparently Jon is thinking about retiring. He should think about it. Give the man all the time he wants. He can fight whenever he wants to fight. That’s Jon Jones, he’s the GOAT [greatest of all time].
“So, leave him alone. If he decides one day to come back, and he comes back and he wants to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title... the question is, how long are you allowed to hold onto that title before they start having that conversation [about stripping Jones of the belt]?”
Jones, a former two-time light-heavyweight champion, is considered by many fans and pundits to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. However, his legacy has been tainted by numerous failed drug tests and arrests.
After a three-year hiatus, Jones moved up to heavyweight in March 2023, winning the vacant title. He was then sidelined with an injury until November 2024. When he returned, he stopped Stipe Miocic, the consensus heavyweight ‘GOAT’.
In the meantime, Aspinall won the interim belt in November 2023 and even defended it last July – in a rare move in the UFC – while waiting for Jones. He retained the interim title with a knockout of Curtis Blaydes in Manchester, UK.
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