Dana White Pours Cold Water on Jon Jones’ White House Fantasy

It is a well-known fact by now that Jon Jones wants to be back in for the UFC’s historic White House card planned for next summer. However, Dana White isn’t buying what ‘Bones’ is selling. Despite a personal apology from the former heavyweight champ, the UFC boss remains firm in his stance. It seems highly unlikely that the consensus MMA GOAT will get the call for America’s 250th birthday bash on the South Lawn.

Jones’ messy exit from the heavyweight division earlier this year is the reason behind all the chaos. He retired and later re-entered the USADA testing pool, confirming he wants one more dance. However, the UFC boss appears to have had enough of his inconsistency, as he has expressed on multiple occasions. 

Dana White Doesn’t Accept Jon Jones’ Apology

Speaking with Zach Gelb on Sirius XM, White revealed that Jones reached out directly to apologise for messing up the company’s 265lbs title unification plans with Tom Aspinall. “He reached out, he wrote, like a text saying ‘listen, sorry how this all played out’ or whatever. ‘I want to fight at the White House, I’m serious about that,” he said.

But the apology fell flat. When Gelb asked if the message changed White’s mind, the UFC president was blunt. Without any second thought, he replied, “No. I appreciate it. I appreciate him reaching out and doing that. But I need people I can count on for this fight. I know who they are and I know who they are not.”

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Dana White tells me that Jon Jones recently apologized to him and while @danawhite appreciated that he made it clear that he still can’t count on @JonnyBones for the #UFC White House Card. pic.twitter.com/1qlgYPr5Bw

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) September 12, 2025

Since July, Conor McGregor and Jones’ inclusion in the UFC White House event has always been one of the most hyped discussions. Since the settlement was finalized, White sounds optimistic about the Irishman’s participation in the prestigious event. The 37-year-old has recently teased his return amid White House date shift

Jones, on the other hand, has tried nearly everything but still couldn’t convince White. What concerns him is Jones’ reliability. The UFC boss still hasn’t forgotten that Jones was the reason behind the only event cancellation in company history with UFC 151. Moreover, his issues outside the cage led to UFC 200 being almost shelved nearly a decade ago. And the latest Aspinall debacle is only a small fragment of that legacy. So, the head honcho isn’t ready to take a risk where there’s any margin for error.

Dana White Still Haunted by UFC’s Only Canceled Fight

White’s hesitation runs deeper than just recent retirement drama. The UFC boss is still scarred by past Jones meltdowns, particularly referencing what he called the promotion’s darkest hour. “He’s not the guy that when cr*p hits the fan, he’s not the guy like, ‘Whatever, I’ll fight whoever.'” White told Jim Rome on Thursday.

He added, “He’s one of the guys I put on the list who has had some not-so-bright people around him that made decisions for him, and he listened to them at that time in his career. Fight fell out, the only fight we’ve ever canceled in the history of the company.”

White was, of course, referring to the already mentioned UFC 151 event that fell through when Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice after his original opponent, Dan Henderson, pulled out.

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That’s the nuclear option in fight promotion: canceling a card. While White didn’t specify which event, it’s a wound that clearly hasn’t healed. Thus, the trust issue has now reached its boiling point.

White’s philosophy is simple. He said, “I like consistency. I like guys who do you want to be in a foxhole with? Those are my kind of guys.” The way things are unfolding, it seems like not Jones, but McGregor would be White’s preferred headliner.