Jon Jones, broadly thought-about the best blended martial artist of all time, has retired from competitors, UFC CEO Dana White introduced on Saturday.
In keeping with White, Jones, 37, knowledgeable the promotion of his resolution to retire on Friday. The UFC had been working in the direction of reserving a heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall, however with Jones’s sudden retirement, Aspinall is now elevated to undisputed champion.
“Jon Jones known as us final night time and retired,” White mentioned throughout a press convention in Azerbaijan. ‘Jon Jones is formally retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”
Jones didn’t instantly touch upon White’s announcement. White mentioned the UFC will work with Aspinall subsequent week on reserving his first title protection.
Jones (28-1) moved up from the sunshine heavyweight division to seize the vacant heavyweight championship over Ciryl Gane in 2023. He defended the belt as soon as throughout 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 many largest in UFC heavyweight historical past, however Jones repeatedly downplayed the potential matchup, arguing {that a} win over Aspinall would have achieved nothing for his legacy. Jones’s disinterest induced many observers to accuse him of ducking Aspinall. A web-based petition calling for Jones to be stripped of his title really garnered almost 200,000 signatures.
Jones, who lives and trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been thought-about the best blended martial artist of all time for years. At 21, he turned the youngest champion in UFC historical past, when he defeated Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the 205-pound title in 2011. He went on to a 16-0 document in UFC championship fights, essentially the most of all time. He’s considered one of 9 fighters to carry UFC titles in a number of weight courses. His 22 profession wins within the UFC are tied for fifth-most in UFC historical past.
All through his profession, Jones was closely impacted by authorized points outdoors 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 automobile accident that injured a 25-year-old pregnant lady. He was suspended from competitors for one yr in 2016, after testing optimistic for performance-enhancing medication. Jones lengthy maintained these optimistic outcomes have been as a consequence of contaminated authorized dietary supplements.
