Jon Jones Ready to Break UFC Pact to Battle Ngannou

Jon Jones  was last seen in an MMA bout making a successful defense of the UFC Heavyweight Championship by way of third-round knockout over Stipe Miocic in the latter's retirement bout in November of 2024. After winning that contest, the next step was to have been a heavyweight championship unification bout against then-interim champion Tom Aspinall.

That unification contest never materialized, as in June of 2025, Jones would reveal his intention to retire from the sport in a telephone call to UFC CEO Dana White. Upon announcing Jones' retirement from MMA, White elevated Tom Aspinall to permanent champion at 265 lbs.

In the wake of his retirement, fans accused Jones of trying to avoid Aspinall and a unification fight,  which he apologized to White for in September of last year and mentioned he'd be interested in appearing on UFC Freedom 250 in June on The White House grounds. When the card was revealed in March, Jones' name was left off of the bill.

Francis Ngannou Calls Out Jon Jones in Helwani Post-Fight Interview

This past weekend, Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA, the home venue of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, served as the setting for MVP MMA 1 on the Netflix streaming service. During the event, Francis Ngannou knocked out Philipe Lins inside the opening round of action with a left hook.

Ariel Helwani served as the post-fight interviewer on the main card Saturday night. In Ngannou's post-fight interviewer, Helwani asked if "The Predator" had any interest in fighting "Bones."

"In terms of business, he should be watching what I'm doing and learn," Ngannou said. "If he it now, he should be able to figure it out and and come make this fight. This fight can happen before we retire."

Jon Jones on Possibility of Fighting Francis Ngannou

Jon Jones was on the panel for MVP MMA 1's onsite studio show on Netflix this past Saturday night and he was questioned about suspending his retirement from the sport of MMA to square off against Francis Ngannou at a later date. It should be noted that although Jones announced his intentions to conclude his career in the sport, he's still under contract with the UFC.

The promotion is currently reluctant to sever ties with Jon Jones for a multitude of reasons, including the overall weakness of the heavyweight division at the present time.

"You know, I've got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract," Jon Jones said during the Netflix broadcast on Saturday night. "That's going to be the difficult part."

Jones also said that if and when this fight takes place, chances are that it won't happen under the UFC promotional banner. 

"I don't think Dana is interested in doing business with Francis," he continued. "Doing it with MVP would probably be the only way to make it happen."

"Bones" Admits He'll Likely Stay Retired From MMA

While he hasn't fought in more than a year and a half and he mentioned that he'd like to square off against Francis Ngannou in MVP MMA, Jon Jones has come to grips with the reality that the contest versus Miocic in 2024 was probably his last in MMA.

"I'm constantly on the road, creating my own businesses and endorcing other businesses," Jon Jones said. "I feel like if things weren't going well, I'd feel the pressure to get back in the cage, but things are going so well on a professional level that I really have no reason to fight anymore."