There’s still plenty of uncertainty about what Jon Jones will do next.
He’d been eyeing a return in 2026, looking specifically at the UFC event at the White House in June. After President Donald Trump announced that card last summer, Jones quickly reversed his retirement decision. But he wasn’t included in the lineup.
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That snub led to some pointed comments from Jones, directed mostly at Dana White. It also raised fresh questions about whether we’d seen the last of him inside the Octagon.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jon Jones is open to UFC return after retirement backtrack following ‘positive’ conversation
Just a day after telling Red Corner MMA he was done with fighting, Jon Jones pulled another U-turn. This time, he said it happened following a positive chat with UFC’s Hunter Campbell.
The 36-year-old has lost track of how many times he’s retired or come back. Just last month, he was talking about stepping away from the sport for good after missing out on the White House event in June.
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Then a conversation with Campbell changed his mind again, leading him to tell The Schmo at Dirty Boxing 6 in Miami:
“We had that conversation tonight,” Jones said about discussing his fighting future with the UFC’s Hunter Campbell.
“I took a stem cell right before the White House card was curated. I’m starting to feel the effects, I feel really good physically.
“Let’s not put any pressure on anything. I’m gonna focus on coaching Gable (Steveson) right now, but who knows what the future holds,” he added
Jones’s recent comments mark another swing in a career already filled with retirements and comebacks. His most recent exit came after being left off the lineup for an event at the White House in June 2026.
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The omission didn’t sit well with him, especially given his ties to Donald Trump, who’d pushed for his involvement when announcing the card last summer.
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