Dana White is fed up with repeatedly addressing Jon Jones’ snub from the White House card. Jones has been vocal about wanting a spot on the historic event against Alex Pereira, even after his sudden and surprising retirement last year. However, White dismissed the idea from the outset, insisting the former two-division champion cannot be relied upon. Tensions only grew once the official White House card was unveiled during UFC 326.

White claimed that Jones is retired and was never in consideration for the card, even referencing Jones’ own admission about dealing with arthritis. Still, ‘Bones’ has refused to back down, claiming he has undergone stem cell treatment. He recently revealed he was offered $15 million to fight Alex Pereira, expressing dissatisfaction with the purse. Dana White has now responded to those claims, and he made no effort to hide his displeasure.

“Jon Jones was never fighting on the White House card,” White responded to Jones’ $15 million claim. “How many f**king times do I have to say this?… I literally have done two press conferences talking about this. [Matchmakers] went out, found everything that they thought was available and possible, and then I picked the fights. There’s no way in hell I was putting him on the card. 

“No matter what the money was,” White added with frustration. “Jon Jones was never going to fight on the White House card.”

Sounds a little personal, doesn’t it? Well, it might be. To think that White was singing Jones’ praises as the GOAT of MMA this time last year. Just days ago, White picked Jones to beat Muhammad Ali in a fight. But he still would not host Jon on the White House card.

For context, Jon Jones was reportedly offered $30 million last year to face Tom Aspinall when the latter was the interim heavyweight champion, and Jones held the title. The undefeated two-division champion, however, refused to take the fight, despite the UFC meeting his $30M demand—even after making Aspinall, UFC, and the fans wait for over a year in anticipation of the fight. There’s karmic justice to it, and many even feel Jones had it coming.

Instead of Jon Jones, Alex Pereira’s first heavyweight fight will be against Ciryl Gane in the co-main event of UFC White House, officially billed as UFC Freedom 250. The pair will fight for the interim heavyweight title, with the winner possibly unifying the title against the injured champion Tom Aspinall, somewhere down the line later this year. Jones, for now, appears to have been forced back into retirement. 

But he continues to fire shots.

Jon Jones claps back at Dana White over arthritis concern

Last month, Jon Jones unintentionally revealed he is dealing with arthritis in his hip. It’s serious enough to qualify him for a hip replacement. This claim was further legitimized by a clip of Jones competing in the celebrity flag football game, where he could be seen struggling to run. Not to mention, he is fast approaching his 40s. 

But after Dana White used it to brand Jon Jones as retired, the former UFC heavyweight champion pushed back against doubts surrounding his physical condition. 

“Random thought: Arthritis hurts, it doesn’t make you cripple,” he wrote on X. “I’m still smashing 99.47% of you out there.”

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Since his post, rising middleweight contender Bo Nickal added fuel to the conversation. 

“Best 2/3 takedowns right now, me vs you, who wins?” Nickal wrote back. 

‘Bones’ hasn’t fought since his win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November 2024. And if he continues to be stubborn about his paycheck, there’s a good chance he will never fight again. 

That being said, it appears Dana White is confident that he made the right decision by keeping Jon Jones out of the White House card. But do you think Jones is gone for good?