Jon Jones has officially retired from mixed martial arts, with UFC president Dana White declaring Tom Aspinall the promotion’s new heavyweight champion.
Jones, a former two-time light-heavyweight champion, won the vacant heavyweight belt in March 2023, before Aspinall claimed the interim belt that November, when Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle.
Jones’s injury delayed his planned title defence against Stipe Miocic until November 2024, when “Bones” ultimately returned to the cage and retained his belt with a third-round stoppage. In the meantime, Aspinall made the rare move of defending the interim title, doing so successfully last July.
That set Britain’s Aspinall, 32, and American Jones, 37, on a collision course. Or so it seemed. A frustrating saga saw Jones refuse to fight the interim champion yet also refuse to retire, with many fans accusing Jones of wasting Aspinall’s time and a segment of the Briton’s prime. On Saturday, however, Jones officially announced his retirement from MMA, leading White to declare Aspinall the regular heavyweight champion.
“Today, I’m officially announcing my retirement from the UFC,” Jones wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “This decision comes after a lot of reflection, and I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the journey I’ve experienced over the years.
“From the first time I stepped into the Octagon, my goal was to push the boundaries of what was possible in this sport. Becoming the youngest UFC champion in history, defending my title against some of the best fighters in the world, and sharing unforgettable moments with fans across the globe—these are memories I’ll cherish forever.
“I’ve faced incredible highs and some tough lows, but every challenge has taught me something valuable and made me stronger, both as a fighter and as a person […] To my fellow fighters, thank you for bringing out the best in me and for the respect we’ve shared inside and outside the cage.
“As I close this chapter of my life, I look forward to new opportunities and challenges ahead. MMA will always be a part of who I am, and I’m excited to see how I can continue to contribute to the sport and inspire others in new ways. Thank you all for being part of this incredible journey with me. The best is yet to come.”
Jones is seen by many fans and pundits as the greatest fighter in MMA history, although his career was marred by numerous failed drug tests and run-ins with the law. He was twice stripped of the UFC light-heavyweight title and once stripped of the interim 205lb belt. He has tested positive for both performance-enhancing and recreational substances.
Yet many fans cling to Jones’s record, with the American having never lost outside of a sole disqualification for using illegal elbows. For years, White attempted to have that result overturned.
Jones vacated the light-heavyweight title in 2020 as he eyed a long-awaited move to heavyweight, and after three years out of the cage, he returned to submit Ciryl Gane in round one. With that result, he claimed the vacant heavyweight belt. His delayed defence against Miocic pitted the greatest-ever 205lb fighter against the consensus greatest UFC heavyweight ever. However, Miocic was 42 at the time of their fight, and his previous outing was a devastating knockout loss almost four years prior.
Aspinall, meanwhile, has been one of the most electrifying fighters in the UFC since his 2020 debut. The Wigan heavyweight is 8-1 in the UFC with eight stoppage wins, all of them in the first two rounds, while his sole defeat was caused by an injury.
Aspinall, who holds the record for the shortest average fight time of a UFC combatant with five or more bouts, won the interim title by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich, before retaining it with a knockout of Curtis Blaydes. His victory over Blaydes saw Aspinall avenge his injury-induced loss from 2022.
Aspinall told The Independent earlier in June that Jones had retired, yet White was coy on the matter until Saturday, when he said: “Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.
“Do I regret the time that I gave [Jones]? Listen, if you look at what he’s accomplished in the sport, no. It is what it is. I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and obviously money, but we’ll make it up to him.
“Tom Aspinall’s a good guy. He’s been incredible through this whole process that we’ve gone through. He’s been willing to do anything, fight him anywhere at any time and do this, and now he’s like: ‘I’ll fight anybody. You tell me who and I’ll fight them.’ Aspinall’s been great. He’s going to be a great heavyweight champion for us. I’m excited to work with him.”
