Jon
Jones is having a great time toying with anyone who asks him if
he plans on fighting again.
The current Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight
champion has been the subject of a long-lasting “will he or won’t
he” question about if whether he will step back into the Octagon.
In November 2024, Jones opted against taking on interim beltholder
Tom
Aspinall to face champ emeritus Stipe
Miocic, whom he dispatched within three rounds. While he and
Aspinall, per the UFC, are on a collision course, Jones is as coy
as ever about the subject.
When appearing on ”DeepCut with
VicBlends” on Thursday, the champion waffled on what he has in
mind for a competitive future, even going so far as to say he is
“focusing on love” as of late. He also hinted that he might have
other prospects outside of combat, but did not go into any
detail.
“I don’t know what life holds as far as fighting and competing,”
Jones said in response to being asked if he had one more bout left
in him. “I do feel like I’ll be a lifelong martial artist, whether
I’m coaching others or taking exhibition matches or things like
that.”
The name Aspinall did not leave his lips, instead mentioning that
he as an all-time great has been afforded luxuries most do not,
including the ability to take time away from the sport.
“There’s a lot of great competition still in the UFC,” he remarked.
“I do view myself as more than a fighter, and being in my position,
I feel like I have a lot more options than a lot of the other
fighters as far as the ability to leave and return and things like
that.”
While Jones has not competed since November 2024—a bit over six
months—his unwillingness to commit to a date or even that he will
square off against Aspinall has rubbed fans the wrong way. The
online petition suggesting that the UFC should strip Jones of
his title had garnered over 125,000 signatures on Wednesday. On
Thursday, it was nearly eclipsing 150,000. Jones does not mind, at
least publicly.
“And so, right now I’m just focusing on love,” Jones said with a
grin. “Happiness, kindness. We’re in the quarter-century mark, this
year should be a really special year, so this year I’m saying yes
to more opportunities…I’m traveling more, I’m consciously being
kinder to people, and that’s just the way of my mind right now is
just love and kindness and peace and focusing on family and
focusing on me, and my aura.”
He
recently joked on social media that he would not be concerned
if stripped of his title, but he does not seem willing to outright
say the word “retirement” either that has become a running joke in
sections of the MMA community. Instead, he was just grateful
everything that has happened in his life because of his ability in
the sport.
Jones went on to say, “I’ll always love MMA. Somehow the universe
made me one of the best at it, so I’ll always love it.”