Jon Jones doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the current Heavyweight title picture.
Tom Aspinall, heir apparent to the Heavyweight crown, recently broke the record for longest interim champion in UFC history. During his reign as interim Heavyweight kingpin, he has even defended his belt, a 60-second knockout win over top contender Curtis Blaydes. At 32 years of age, Aspinall is in the prime of his career and should be building his legacy.
there haven’t been any positive updates on that end in a long time. “Bones” has an obligation to defend or vacate his Heavyweight crown, but he skipped town after beating up the aged Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
UFC 309 was already six months ago for anyone keeping count.
All the while, Jones has publicly rebuked criticism and duking accusations. He’s not avoiding Aspinall, he’s just “living good” in Thailand. In a leaked video, however, Jones admitted that he was done with fighting. Responding to a comment on X, Jones refuted the retirement tag to some degree, offering yet another vague update on his status as UFC champion.
“I don’t know if I wanna call it retired,” Jones wrote. “I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show em. 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.”
Another Jones break really wouldn’t be a problem if he vacated his belt. Award Aspinall the official belt and let him defend his title this summer, and fans would be thrilled. Then, if “Bones” returned for a title fight six months or a year later, the hype would still be enormous regardless of who was reigning champion.
UFC CEO Dana White is still convinced Jones vs. Aspinall happens this year, but he might be the last optimist in the room.
