Jon Jones‘ performance at UFC 309 will determine whether or not he lays down his gloves for good.
20 months after scoring a quickfire submission victory over Ciryl Gane to win the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285, ‘Bones’ will return to the Octagon on November 16 for a showdown with the division’s consensus GOAT, Stipe Miocic. The two titans will headline the promotion’s annual pit stop in Madison Square Garden, and could very well be the last time we see both of them compete.
While Miocic’s retirement feels like a foregone conclusion at this point, Jones has been a little more up in the air with his fighting future. Recently, ‘Bones’ made it clear that if he did stick around, he had no intention of unifying his belt with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. Instead, he’d much rather seek out another legacy fight with reigning light heavyweight king Alex Pereira.
But even that isn’t guaranteed.
Jon Jones Doesn’t have ‘anything left to prove’
During a recent interview with KetoneIQ, Jones made it clear that his performance in NYC this weekend will determine whether or not he sticks around for one more fight.
Jon Jones says that his decision on whether or not to retire at #UFC309 depends on his performance:
“One of my main goals is to make it look really easy. If I can accomplish that, I think curiosity will keep me in the game.”
@Ketoneiq #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/oUrX6QkXsV
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 8, 2024
“I feel like whether I retire or not will depend on this next performance,” Jones stated. “One of my main goals is to make it look really easy. If I can accomplish that, then curiosity will keep me in the game–just to see how far we can really take this thing.”
Jones continued, “But at the same time, I’m really happy with my career. It’s been unbelievable, truly unbelievable. I work on looking in the mirror and reminding myself that I am enough, that I’ve accomplished enough, and that I don’t have anything left to prove. Sometimes, you can get caught up in always needing more and more.”
Jones’ fight against Miocic will be his second appearance inside the Octagon in nearly five years. Miocic is in a similar boat with the Cleveland native competing for the first time since a March 2021 loss to Francis Ngannou.
Tom Aspinall has fought seven times in the time it’s taken Jones and Miocic to rack up two combined fights — and that’s with Aspinall losing a year of his career due to a knee injury.
But please Mr. Jones, tell us more about how Aspinall hasn’t done anything.
