Jon Jones retires: UFC president Dana White announces end of legendary career; Tom Aspinall now full champion

Jon Jones moves away from mixed martial arts.

After a two -year construction of a superfight against the temporary title holder Tom Aspinall who never materialized while the UFC has repeatedly refused to remove the inactive “bones” from its heavyweight championship, Jones, 37, informed the promotion on Friday evening that he retired.

The president / chief executive officer of the UFC, Dana White, who had recently given Jones a two -week public deadline to decide if he returns, revealed the news on Saturday at a press conference following a UFC night card in Bakou, Azerbaijan.

“Jon Jones called us last night and retired,” said White. “Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the UFC heavyweight champion.”

A champion with two divisions and a long-standing king of light heavy goods vehicles, Jones (28-1, 1 NC), reached the almost universal status as the biggest fighter in the history of 32 years of the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts, as a whole. Simultaneously, however, the incredible 17 years of Jones, who saw him stripped of UFC titles, a record three times due to failures and arrests of drug testing, was marred by personal transgressions and constant legal issues, not to mention the quarrels of white and promotion.

Jones, who returned from a three-year retirement to win the vacant title against Cyril Gane in 2023, was finally to face Aspinall (15-3) later this year. The 32 -year -old native of England won the temporary title in November 2023 against Sergei Pavlovich after Jones withdrew from a defense of the title provided against the former champion Stipe Miocic.

Aspinall, who predicted that he would retire Jones without even fighting him, continued to defend his interim in July by eliminating Curtis Blaydes in their revenge after the controversial decision of the UFC to allow Jones to return from a dismissal of 20 months to fight Miocic last November. Jones beat Miocic via third round TKO despite the fight of the struggle due to the layoff of Miocic, aged 42, of almost four years.

After the announcement on Saturday, Aspinall sent a message to his fans on social networks.

“For you, fans. It is time to advance this heavyweight division,” wrote Aspinall on Instagram. “An undisputed active champion.”

Much of the disappointment surrounding Jones’ retirement concerns both the activation of the situation by the UFC and the fact that White announced to the UFC 316 in June that Jones had already accepted the fight. Jones, who has changed his melody several times in recent years surrounding his future, then went to a podcast This week and has only added fuel to the fire not to fight Aspinall by playing retirement talks.

“I do not mean that I am retired because the fights are in my blood,” Jones told the “Full Send” podcast. “Right now, I could really worry about the fights. I have done it all my life at a very high level and when the itching will come back – and if it comes back – then I will do it with all my heart, do it at best my capacities.”

“I think I’m going to fight again. Where the future of combat sports is going, it’s going to be incredible when I come back.”

Jones’ UFC career was almost perfect inside the cage. His only defeat, a 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill during his fourth appearance in an octagon, is the result of a first position of first position which is now a legal decision. Jones moves away after having beaten almost all the times of the previous time of the previous time, notably Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier (twice), with the second result due to a missed drug test in 2017.

White told journalists in Bakou on Saturday that he did not regret having given Jones, who was within two months of the Cain Velasquez record in UFC for the longest reign of the heavyweight title, an unprecedented time to make his decision.

“Listen to, if you look at what [Jones] accomplished in sport, no. That’s what it is, “said White.” I obviously feel bad for Tom that he has lost all this time and this money, but we will catch up. Tom Aspinall is a good guy, he was incredible in this process. He will be an excellent heavyweight champion for us and I am delighted to work with him. “”