Jon Jones, arguably the greatest mixed martial arts competitor in the history of the UFC, made when he told UFC president Dana White that he was calling it a career ahead of his anticipated bout against Tom Aspinall.
According to CNN, White revealed the news during a June 21 press conference in response to questions from reporters concerning Jones’ reticence to put his heavyweight title on the line in a unification bout against Aspinall.
“Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones has officially retired,” White said. “Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”
The 37-year-old Jones confirmed White’s comments, saying in a post on X that “this decision comes after a lot of reflection.”
He added, “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.”
The timing of Jones’ retirement coincides with UFC fans accusing him of refusing to fight Aspinall and a legal challenge.
Jones, 37, has had a summons filed against him on a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident in February, which was filed in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Metropolitan Court. His lawyer, Chris Dodd, who represented him in a previous case, declined to comment.
According to court documents, a police service aide spoke to a man believed to be Jones, who “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties.” At this point, according to reports, the aide requested the backup of a police officer who spoke to the man and the officer described similar “allusions to violence” while never directly answering questions about whether or not he was Jones.
It remains unclear why it took several months to file the charges against Jones, and although there is no indication that the charge against Jones and his decision to retire are connected, his decorated UFC career is tainted by controversy.
That includes having a victory against Daniel Cormier vacated after failing a drug test.
“I said ‘If Jon Jones does not fight Tom Aspinall, he quit,” Cormier , a legendary UFC fighter and ESPN analyst, said on a video on his YouTube channel. “He quit. He did not want to fight Tom Aspinall. It’s so surprising. Is he scared? No. But by not fighting Aspinall, he opens the conversation. He lets you–every one of you—question why he doesn’t fight him. To walk away right now opens the door for people to have the conversation about, ‘Does this affect the legacy?’”
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