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Jon Jones appears to have no intention of ever fighting again. The UFC heavyweight champion recently took to X/Twitter to address calls for him to be stripped due to his unwillingness to face the division's interim champion, Tom Aspinall. Yet, he still believes he should remain champion.
According to him, it is in the promotion's best interest to have him as its undisputed heavyweight champion, even if he wants no part of a title unification with Aspinall. He did not, however, elaborate on his reasons for thinking that he is more beneficial to the promotion as a champion, even if inactive. He wrote:
"I spoke to the UFC a long time ago about what my future plans were. I haven't really worked out since my last fight in New York City. Honestly, I believe it's been in the UFC's best interest to keep presenting me as the company's champion—not Tom."
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The MMA great also claimed to have pocketed a significant amount of money due to the massive interest in a bout between him and Aspinall.
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"I've just been playing the role of the company man by doing nothing at all... and holding the position. And truthfully, it's been incredibly lucrative. I've made more money off of Tom being the interim champ than Tom has himself. It sucks to see the rest of the division get slowed down like this, but that has nothing to do with me. I don't pull the strings."
Check out Jon Jones' post below:
Ultimately, Jones does not believe he is at fault for the bout not being made or the division being held hostage. He claims to have notified the UFC of his plans well in advance, and believes that it is up to Dana White and co. to decide the future of the division, whether he fights again or not.
Jon Jones has even expressed his willingness to vacate the belt
To further drive home his disinterest in the UFC heavyweight division and his role as its champion, Jon Jones also claimed that he can't be stripped of a belt he would vacate. He wrote on X:
"And remember, you can't strip a guy like me at this point. I give the belt up freely. Veni, vidi, vici."
Check out Jon Jones' post below:
Jones' last appearance in the octagon came in November 2024, where he secured a third-round knockout victory over Stipe Miocic.
