Former UFC two-division champion Jon Jones has done a lot of self-reflection over the last two years and hasn’t shied away from how he truly views the end of his MMA career.
Jones’ last UFC fight came in Nov. 2024 against former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Jones secured a TKO stoppage win in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd in the main event of UFC 309.
Jones returned to the UFC after a pectoral injury pushed his fight with Miocic back a year. The fight moved forward, despite backlash from the MMA community, which argued the promotion should have kept the division moving in Jones’ absence.
Was Jon Jones Planning a UFC Comeback?
Since then, Jones has teetered on the edge of returning to the UFC. But it was to no avail. A failed booking for a would-be unification fight with then-interim champion Tom Aspinall never came together, nor did a potential Octagon return in June at UFC Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C.
In a short conversation withThe Schmo, Jones didn’t hold back when discussing the fallout from not fighting on the White House South Lawn.
Jon Jones Opens Up on UFC White House Omission
"There was the White House card," Jones said. "That was one of the few nights in my career where I just was thinking, 'I should have been there.' I usually don't regret decisions, but that was one of my big regrets in life: not being a part of the White House. But if I never fight again, I think I'm pretty damn happy."
Jones has since shifted his attention to coaching UFC prospect Gable Steveson, Among other things, he said he is content to have left his final MMA chapter in the Octagon after the Miocic victory.
“And it was great. I got to fight — my brother was still alive at the time, my father was there. I got to tell the world that I love Jesus, and that will never change. I got to salute our President,” Jones said. “I'm not huge into politics, but to have your President there, whether you're Democrat or Republican, is massive. So honestly, I don't think it gets much better than that.”
Jon Jones Pays Respect to Stipe Miocic
Jones, too, said it was an honor to fight someone of Miocic’s caliber.
“Stipe Miocic was considered the greatest heavyweight of all time. You know, we're both older, but to defeat him, I don't really see how it can get bigger than that."
Jones seems content in retirement. But only time will tell.
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