Jon Jones will have to start making some decisions in the second half of 2024.
It’s been over one full year since Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Jones, fought in the Octagon. The bout saw “Bones” return from a three-year absence to win the vacant title in his divisional debut opposite Ciryl Gane in March 2023 (watch highlights). Since then, Jones suffered a tough injury, and an interim titleholder, Tom Aspinall, was crowned and will defend that title before Jones once again returns.
Jones, 36, was always expected to have a short run in his new division after teasing only a pair of intriguing fights in his mind. Those two being the aforementioned Gane and former two-time champion, Stipe Miocic. The match ups are still in the works to align as planned for Jones, who could fight Miocic as early as November 2024. When asked if that might be his retirement fight, Jones said it’s possible.
“Honestly, it’s hard to say right now, I’m gonna base a lot of that on my next performance,” Jones quote tweeted in response to a fan. “The options are looking crazy right now.”
Aspinall has been out of luck when it comes to attracting interest from Jones despite his status as the more active interim champion of Heavyweight. Should Aspinall successfully defend his belt against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 this month (Sat., July 27, 2024), he plans to wait for his shot at undisputed gold whether it’s against Jones or Miocic, or someone else.
Instead of the perfectly logical fight against Aspinall, Jones has thrown out the idea of a champion vs. champion showdown against Light Heavyweight kingpin, Alex Pereira. “Poatan” just earned his second title defense at UFC 303 when he knocked out Jiri Prochazka by head kick and punches 13 seconds into round two (watch highlights) this past weekend (June 29, 2024). Now, he’s in a prime position to make further history if he so chooses.