Jon Jones, widely considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, has retired from competition, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Saturday.
According to White, Jones, 37, informed the promotion of his decision to retire on Friday. The UFC had been working towards booking a heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall, but with Jones's sudden retirement, Aspinall is now elevated to undisputed champion.
"Jon Jones called us last night and retired," White said during a press conference in Azerbaijan. 'Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC."
Jones did not immediately comment on White's announcement. White said the UFC will work with Aspinall next week on booking his first title defense.
Jones (28-1) moved up from the light heavyweight division to capture the vacant heavyweight championship over Ciryl Gane in 2023. He defended the belt once during his 27-month title reign, in a third-round TKO victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.
A bout between Jones and Aspinall would have been one of the biggest in UFC heavyweight history, but Jones repeatedly downplayed the potential matchup, arguing that a win over Aspinall would have done nothing for his legacy. Jones's disinterest caused many observers to accuse him of ducking Aspinall. An online petition calling for Jones to be stripped of his title actually garnered nearly 200,000 signatures.
Jones, who lives and trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time for years. At 21, he became the youngest champion in UFC history, when he defeated Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua for the 205-pound title in 2011. He went on to a 16-0 record in UFC championship fights, the most of all time. He is one of nine fighters to hold UFC titles in multiple weight classes. His 22 career wins in the UFC are tied for fifth-most in UFC history.
Throughout his career, Jones was heavily impacted by legal issues outside of the Octagon. Most notably, he was arrested and charged with a felony hit-and-run in 2015, after he fled the scene of a vehicle accident that injured a 25-year-old pregnant woman. He was suspended from competition for one year in 2016, after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Jones long maintained those positive results were due to contaminated legal supplements.
