‘S—t, I may just enjoy retirement’ – Jon Jones reacts to Ngannou out grappling Gane

Did Jon Jones’ desire to fight for the heavyweight belt change as the fight went on?

Former longtime UFC champion Jon Jones hasn’t seen action for nearly two years now. “Bones” relinquished the light heavyweight title in 2020 and decided to finally turn his heavyweight aspirations into a reality.

These days, the most activity Jones is having is on social media. The 34-year-old was apparently tuned in on Saturday’s UFC 270 heavyweight title headliner between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and he had this to say.

As the fight went on, he seemed to have changed his tune.

If you ask the other major players involved, Jones isn’t seen as the next best option. UFC president Dana White, for one, says he has no confidence in declaring that Jones will indeed be the next heavyweight title contender.

“I don’t feel confident saying that Jon Jones is next. And not because I think he’s unreliable, it’s because I honestly don’t know what Jon Jones wants to do next,” White told Brett Okamoto during a fight week interview.

“I think Jon’s gonna watch this fight and he’ll decide maybe he doesn’t fight at heavyweight. Maybe he goes back and tries to regain the light heavyweight championship. I honestly don’t know the answer to that question.

Ngannou, who successfully defended his title for the first time via decision, says a potential fight with Jones is already behind him.

“No, I’m done with that fight,” Ngannou said during the pre-fight presser. “I’ve been waiting for that fight for so long. After Stipe, it was supposed to be Jon Jones, and that never happened. I don’t know why. So I moved on.”

Jones expects his heavyweight debut to happen “sometime in the second quarter of 2022.” He also claimed to have been guaranteed a PPV-based pay increase by the UFC for his next fights.