Did UFC GOAT Jon Jones duck his final superfight? President Dana White says ...

Was UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, 32, right all along?

According to UFC president Dana White, the deal for Jon Jones, 37, to face Aspinall (15-3) was “done” before Jones called White on Saturday and retired from mixed martial arts competition.

During a chat with reporters on Sunday at the Alvarez vs. Crawford news conference in New York, White pondered whether Jones’ retirement was caused by his latest legal saga — Jones (28-1-0, 1 NC) is accused of being involved in a car crash on Feb. 24, and subsequently fleeing the scene — which also made headlines last weekend.

“When I saw [Jones’ legal news], I thought, ‘Everyone is going to think that’s why he retired,’” White said. “Maybe that is why he retired. Who the hell knows, man? I don’t know. These are all questions you have to ask him. We had the fight done. You saw me talking about it very confidently, that this fight was going to happen, and then he changed his mind.”

Jones’ career has been marked by greatness inside the octagon, flanked by numerous legal issues and controversies, including a prior hit-and-run incident.

Aspinall has long taunted Jones for, in his words, “duck”-ing the upcoming Brit, who will swap his interim belt for the official heavyweight one that Jones relinquished on Saturday.

“No, (he’s not ducking Tom Aspinall),” White said. “Jon Jones, I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again: He’s never ducked anybody ... and I think the reality of it is, whatever changed his mind with this fight, you’d have to ask him that. He’s 38 years old, and I don’t know.”

The youngest male to become UFC champion — Jones was 23 years old when he defeated Mauricio Rua for the light heavyweight title in 2011 — who faced the best the sport had to offer, Jones helped the UFC grow to a broader audience, and put mixed martial arts on the map. His aura, dominance, and full use of martial arts against his counterparts is unmatched.

That said, if anyone deserves to ride of into the sunset on their own terms, it’s Jones, who’s made himself and the UFC bundles of money, and has little left to gain (and more to lose) by continuing to partake in the sport.

Sadly, however, fans won’t get the fight they have clamored for since well before Jones defended his legacy one last time by stopping fellow UFC legend Stipe Miocic via TKO in the third round at UFC 309 in Nov.

Outside of 28 wins, Jones has just one loss — to Matt Hamill after being disqualified for landing illegal elbows on a downed a opponent — and one “No contest” after testing positive for traces of a banned substance after pummeling rival Daniel Cormier for a second time. So technically, Jones has not “lost” inside the octagon.

White, who has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Jones throughout his 17-year fight career, calls Jones the greatest of all-time.

Todderick Hunt covers Sports and Culture and Recruiting. Have a story idea or a tip? He can be reached atthunt@njadvancemedia.com.