The Jon Jones championship saga continues. On Wednesday, the UFC heavyweight champion responded to a fan on X with a cryptic message that only fuels doubt over whether Jones will fight again or if he has retired from active competition.
When asked on X, “How does it feel to be retired?” Jones was non-committal, but did seem to suggest he may not be viewing himself as an active fighter.
“I don’t know if I wanna call it retired, I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show em,” Jones wrote. “I’ve had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact. I’m genuinely enjoying life, I’m growing in different ways.”
After a decade of dominating the light heavyweight division, with his only failures coming outside of the cage through failed drug tests and legal issues, Jones made a long-awaited move to heavyweight in March 2023, defeating Ciryl Gane to win the vacant title. Jones was then sidelined by a pectoral injury ahead of a planned bout with Stipe Miocic.
While Jones was sidelined, Tom Aspinall rocketed through the ranks to establish himself as the top contender to Jones’ throne. Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title in November 2023, seemingly positioning himself for a unification bout with Jones.
Instead, Jones followed through with the plan to fight Miocic, winning their November 2024 bout while shooting down the idea of fighting Aspinall both before and after the Miocic fight.
Recently, Jones has hinted at the idea of retiring but has not made any official announcement one way or another. Instead, Jones placed any mystery of his status on the UFC with a post on Monday, writing, “I told the UFC my plans a long time ago. I have no clue why they haven’t shared them with you guys yet.”
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