So Jon Jones is not retired. I think.
Remember when the former UFC Heavyweight Champion came out and officially retired last month? Well that lasted for a couple of weeks. Because Jones re-entered the anti-doping testing pool two weeks later.
“Just re-entered the testing pool, that lasted for about two weeks,” he acknowledged on X. “Figured we’d keep everyone’s options open.”
What made him overturn his decision remains a mystery. However, Jones is now talking about fighting at the upcoming special where the UFC will fight in the White House in 2026. Jones wants the man that’s holding the heavyweight belt at the end of the year.
“I would want to take on whoever’s holding the belt at the end of the year,” Jones told Joy of Everything on TikTok. “As of right now, the champion is Tom Aspinall but we’ll see who’s the champion at the end of the year. I feel like it would only be fitting to have an American guy fight for the championship that night.”
Apparently getting the opportunity to compete at the White House is what made Jones come back. He feels that fighting there is going to be historic, and he has a strong feeling that he’ll be on that card.
“I think it’s exciting,” Jones said about the White House card. “Very exciting. I can’t promise anything but I have a very strong feeling that I’ll be on that card.
“I think it’s going to be incredibly iconic. It’s going to be historic. In my opinion, it will be just as big as the Thrilla in Manilla, Rumble in the Jungle, it’s up there with that. It could be bigger than that.”
And exactly what does Dana White think about this? At this moment, the UFC CEO hasn’t responded to Jon Jones wanting to fight on the White House card. It’s certainly a strange set of circumstances surrounding Jones retiring and unretiring so quickly.
Now it’s quite possible that this is all talk from Jones, but it’s definitely a bizarre move should that be the case. The last time White talked about Jones was when the 39-year-old was claiming that he actually retired in 2024, but White immediately shut down that notion.
Obviously, the man who has the final word in this situation is Dana White. We’ll see if the boss allows Jones to challenge for the UFC Heavyweight title in 2026. There’s been plenty of fighters who have walked back their retirement in the past, so that’s nothing new, but Jones unretiring two weeks after the announcement has to be a record.