Jon Jones isn’t letting anybody cease him from preventing on the White Home.
Following Saturday’s UFC 318 occasion in New Orleans, UFC CEO Dana White was requested if he was entertaining the concept of the just lately retired Jones coming again in July 2026 to combat at a proposed UFC White Home occasion to commemorate the 250th Independence Day in the US.
White was blunt in shooting down the suggestion, saying, “You know the way I felt about him. I simply can’t danger placing him in huge positions in a giant spot and have one thing go unsuitable, particularly the White Home card.”
Jones has a checkered authorized historical past in addition to a number of failed drug assessments which have resulted in him being compelled to relinquish titles, overturned outcomes, and he as soon as refused a short-notice combat in opposition to Chael Sonnen that resulted in him being blamed for the cancellation of UFC 151 in 2012.
On Sunday, Jones responded to White’s feedback, saying he’s “disenchanted” in White’s evaluation of his reliability.
I heard the feedback made eventually evening’s press convention. Whereas I used to be just a little disenchanted, I’m nonetheless within the UFC’s drug testing pool, staying sharp, and persevering with to coach like knowledgeable. I’ll be prepared for no matter comes subsequent.
In a latest interview, I shared that the…
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) July 20, 2025
“I heard the feedback made eventually evening’s press convention,” Jones wrote. “Whereas I used to be just a little disenchanted, I’m nonetheless within the UFC’s drug-testing pool, staying sharp, and persevering with to coach like knowledgeable. I’ll be prepared for no matter comes subsequent.
“In a latest interview, I shared that the chance to combat on the White Home gave me one thing deeper to combat for, a ‘why’ that goes past paychecks or belts. Preventing for my nation provides me a better function!
“The silver lining in all that is figuring out the followers see my coronary heart. They see, I’m prepared and prepared to tackle anybody, to characterize my nation on a historic stage. For me, it’s by no means been simply concerning the opponent. I’m chasing legacy, one thing timeless, one thing larger than the second.
“So for now, I’ll preserve grinding, keep affected person, and keep trustworthy. I’m able to combat on July 4th.”
Jones, 38, introduced his retirement this previous June in the midst of a long-running feud with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall that didn’t yield an precise combat reserving because of Jones repeatedly dismissing Aspinall as a worthy challenger. On the time of his retirement, Jones held the undisputed heavyweight title, and it was anticipated that the 2 would finally meet in a unification bout.
As an alternative, Jones selected to hold up the gloves (quickly, it appears), and Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion standing in his absence.
The information of Jones’ retirement was met with a combined response, with some questioning whether or not he’d even keep retired for lengthy and others simply wanting him to go away after competing sporadically the previous few years.
Jones is broadly hailed as one of many biggest fighters of all time. In his prime, he reigned over the UFC’s gentle heavyweight division for almost a decade, and he has by no means suffered a real loss in 30 professional bouts. His legacy is checkered because of outside-of-the-cage misbehavior, with the most recent allegations against him claiming he left the scene of an accident and likewise threatened regulation enforcement officers.
