Jon Jones continues to hold out hope for a return to the octagon at the White House.
Jones, who re-entered the promotion’s anti-doping testing pool, said he was disappointed to hear comments made by UFC CEO Dana White, who was hesitant to book him on a potential event at the White House.
“I heard the comments made at last night’s press conference. While I was a little disappointed, I’m still in the UFC’s drug testing pool, staying sharp, and continuing to train like a professional. I’ll be ready for whatever comes next,” Jones wrote on X. “In a recent interview, I shared that the opportunity to fight at the White House gave me something deeper to fight for, a ‘why’ that goes beyond paychecks or belts. Fighting for my country gives me a greater purpose!”
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was thinking of staging a UFC match on the White House grounds with upwards of 20,000 spectators to celebrate 250 years of American independence in 2026.
Jones left the UFC on June 23 with a 28-1-0 record, ranked as the promotion’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter and one of the most decorated fighters in the promotion’s history, a former two-time light heavyweight titleholder and the youngest champion ever at 23 years old. He holds multiple records in the 205-pound division, including most title defences, most wins and longest win streak.
Despite Jones’ desire to make his return to the UFC, White was not willing to give his stamp of approval, given Jones’ history.
“It’s not even about him winning the belt,” White said about Jones in the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. “You know how I felt about him. I just can’t risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong, especially the White House card.”
In 2023, following a three-year hiatus, “Bones” made his return to the UFC for his first-ever heavyweight fight. He went on to submit Ciryl Gane in the first round and claim the belt that had been vacated by Francis Ngannou just before. Jones then defended his belt against former long-time champion Stipe Miocic in 2024 after lengthy delays due to Miocic’s injuries.
But with Jones’ retirement, Tom Aspinall became the undisputed heavyweight champion.
By returning to the testing pool, Jones set the stage for an expedited return to the octagon if he intends on fighting again.
The UFC anti-doping policy states that “an athlete who gives notice of retirement … may not resume competing in UFC Bouts until he/she has given UFC written notice of his/her intent to resume competing and has made himself/herself available for testing for a period of 180 days before returning to competition. UFC may grant an exemption to the 180 days written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete.”
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