When Jon Jones came clean on being "prepared to vacate the heavyweight championship" after Stipe Miocic win

Jon Jones has flirted with vacating his heavyweight title numerous times. Ahead of his UFC 309 beatdown of Stipe Miocic, 'Bones' touched on his career following the fight. The 37-year-old claimed that he would be willing to relinquish his heavyweight championship belt in order to pursue more enjoyable fights.

The statement was a loaded one, given that by then, Tom Aspinall was fresh off of defending his interim heavyweight title in a three-minute demolition of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Moreover, the Englishman had been, and still is, calling Jones out. Unfortunately for him, the interest isn't mutual.

During his interaction with veteran MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter, Jones said:

"Yeah, I can see myself after this entertaining super fights only. After this fight, if we get a dominant performance, I'm prepared to vacate the heavyweight championship and then fight for fun. And I want to fight for fun."

Check out Jon Jones' past plans with the UFC heavyweight title:

Ironically, Jones has yet to vacate the heavyweight title after defeating Miocic. Furthermore, a recent video emerged of him conversing with a friend, to whom Jones can be heard claiming his fighting days are over. If true, it will be a major point of frustration for Aspinall.

The Englishman hasn't fought in nearly a year, and has been waiting on the sidelines for Jones, who has been nothing but dismissive. This has also sparked the ire of the MMA fandom, with the Jones vs. Aspinall bout being the most demanded fight of 2025.

Instead, Jones is pursuing other goals and has shown little interest in returning to the octagon, especially against Aspinall.

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Jon Jones recently taunted fans over the possibility of being stripped

Jon Jones' reluctance to fight Tom Aspinall has heightened fan frustration as of late. In fact, Jones found himself in a social media exchange with one fan, who claimed that the 37-year-old would soon be stripped of the heavyweight title. Jones, though, issued a dismissive response and said:

"Stripped? Lol do I come across as the type of person who cares about things like that?"

Jones has actually been stripped of a UFC title before, with the instances taking place during his light heavyweight days. He was stripped of the 205-pound belt after a hit-and-run following UFC 182. Then, following UFC 214, he was again stripped of the title, this time for testing positive for turinabol.