Jon Jones (28-1, 1 NC MMA, 22-1, 1 NC UFC) has been out of active competition in MMA for about 14 months. On Nov. 16, 2024, “Bones” made what would prove to be the final walk to the fabled Octagon at UFC 309 in the main event of the evening for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Jones had a wonderful arena to make that last walk to the cage that fall Saturday night. UFC 309 was the promotion’s 2024 pilgrimage to The World’s Most Famous Arena of Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The fight in The Big Apple went swimmingly for Jon Jones in November of 2024. That evening, Jones disposed of Stipe Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) with a third-round knockout via spinning back kick and punches. Immediately following the contest in New York City, Stipe Miocic announced his retirement from the sport of MMA.
Jon Jones Retires From MMA, Then Tries to Walk it Back
In the aftermath of UFC 309, Jon Jones was linked to a UFC Heavyweight Championship unification fight versus then-interim titleholder Tom Aspinall (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 8-1, 1 NC UFC.) The promotion was keen on this unification contest for a long time, as well, with UFC CEO Dana White mentioning at a press conference in late 2024 that the bout was part of the UFC’s plans for 2025.
Time passed and the calendar turned to June of 2025. Ahead of the UFC’s first visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, Jon Jones placed a telephone call to Dana White to inform him of his intentions to retire from MMA. Subsequent to White announcing Jones’ retirement at the post-fight press conference, Tom Aspinall was elevated to UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Jones’ story wasn’t over from there. Within weeks of “Bones” announcing his retirement from competition, the UFC revealed its initial intentions to stage an event on The White House grounds to commemorate America’s 250th birthday, ultimately scheduling the card for June 13 of this year, something that Jon Jones wanted to be part of. Alex Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) expressed interest in fighting Jones on the card briefly.
Jon Jones Admits It’s Unlikely He’ll Appear on UFC White House June 13
With the card still a few months away, reality is beginning to sink in for Jon Jones as it relates to a potential appearance in Washington, DC for the White House show later on in the spring. He, along with Daniel Cormier, will be appearing as coaches during the new season of ALF Global’s Alf Reality, a Russian competition show in the same vein as The Ultimate Fighter.
During the shooting of the season of Alf Reality, Jon Jones spoke with Red Corner MMA about the prospects of fighting on the White House card.
“Pereira wants to fight me, but I don’t think Dana White’s going to allow that to happen,” Jon Jones said. “It’ll be interesting to see what Dana wants.”
Jon Jones Not Buying Daniel Cormier’s Peace Offering During Alf Reality Filming
Although Daniel Cormier has expressed interest to bury the hatchet with Jones, the latter isn’t buying it under any stretch of the imagination. His side of the story is very different.
“I think if you really get to know Daniel Cormier, he’s really not– he’s an asshole,” he said. “He didn’t really connect with any of the fighters here, he’s just an asshole. I mean, I tried to make peace with him many times and he made it very clear that he wants to enemies for the rest of his life because [of] how lucrative it is.”
Despite the tension between the two of them, Jon Jones did say that levity briefly took over during filming.
“There were moments where we got to laugh,” he said. “But for the most part, he’s a (censored).”
Final Thoughts
Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier might not have been able to patch up their relationship with one another, in spite of the latter’s efforts. Sometimes, relationships are like that.
At the same time, the business side of MMA is a harsh roommate. In the past, Jones has been linked to a number of high-profile contests for UFC events, but there have been times where Jones has been unable to make the walk to the cage for various reasons.
Sure, “Bones” may have been one of the UFC’s marketable stars in his day, but given what Dana White thinks of him away from the Octagon, Jon Jones’ odds of being on the June 13 card at The White House are as low as the temperature at dawn on a winter morning in Ohio.
