Jon Jones is seeking Dana White’s forgiveness.
When White announced Jones’ retirement this past June, a lengthy period of uncertainty and dispute regarding the UFC heavyweight title was brought to an end.
While on the throne, Jones publicly refused to fight Tom Aspinall despite the Englishman’s status as interim champion. According to the UFC boss, that marked a U-turn for the GOAT contender after he had previously verbally agreed to the fight behind the scenes.
That appears to be part of the reason why White has rejected Jones’ White House pleas, and the Rochester native is now looking to mend fences to save his spot and potential fight against Alex Pereira on next year’s celebratory card in Washington D.C.
Despite the odds, I’m still training and optimistic about the possibility of being part of the White House event. At the end of the day, Dana is the boss and it’s his call whether I compete that night or not. I do know Dana was really excited about the fight, and the door hasn’t…
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) August 18, 2025
Jon Jones apologizes as he calls on Dana White to ‘let bygones be bygones’
For the first time, Jon Jones recently owned up to wrongdoing regarding how his tenure as UFC heavyweight champion ended.
During an appearance on the No Scripts Podcast, the 38-year-old issued an apology to White for going back on his verbal agreement.
But he urged the UFC president to “let bygones be bygones” so they can focus on staging a massive fight for the fans in 2026.
“My most immediate goal is to try to be on the White House card,” Jones said. “I’m giving Dana his space.
“Dana has changed my life. He’s changed my life, he’s changed my children’s lives. I am forever grateful to him.
“We had a verbal agreement that didn’t go over well,” he continued. “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 that 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.”
Jon Jones says ‘no one loses’ if UFC books Alex Pereira fight at the White House
During the same podcast, Jones explained why he wants to fight Pereira so badly.
The possibility of sharing the cage with ‘Poatan’ at the White House immediately drew the Rochester native out of retirement.
That’s because, regardless of who wins, Jones insists that nobody will lose if the UFC books the fight.
“Everybody knows who he is,” Jones said of Pereira. “He’s the champion — he’s in the conversation as one of the greatest of all time.
“Either way that fight was to go, no one loses in that fight. It generates so many millions for the sport.
“There’s no losing when you have such high-level people competing,” he added.