Dana White: Jon Jones is retired, Tom Aspinall new UFC heavyweight champion
The Jon Jones situation finally has come to a head: He no longer is the UFC's heavyweight champion.
UFC CEO Dana White said Saturday at the UFC on ABC 8 post-fight news conference that Jones decided to retire. The promotion had been looking for him to book a title unification bout against interim champ Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC).
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"Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC," White said Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jones won the vacant heavyweight title in March 2023 after more than three years removed from the sport. He beat Stipe Miocic to defend the title in November 2024. But now he leaned into the narrative that he was ducking the Aspinall fight, and even said he was keen on White bringing Francis Ngannou back to the UFC to fight him.
Aspinall recently declared himself the rightful titleholder since Jones continued to delay a matchup. There was growing discontent in the MMA community over Jones' apparent unwillingness to line up a fight with Aspinall, to the point there was a petition urging the UFC to strip him of his title.
Now the promotion's brass doesn't have to make that decision because Jones made it for them. White has said Jones is the pound-for-pound greatest fighter in MMA history. What this decision will do for Jones' legacy remains to be seen, of course.
Stay tuned to MMA Junkie for more on this story.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones retires, Tom Aspinall new UFC heavyweight champion
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