It looks like Jon Jones’ decision to retire rather than face Tom Aspinall could hurt him more than just reputationally, as the pound-for-pound great’s hopes of fighting on the UFC’s mooted event at the White House appear to be in tatters.
Jones’ heavyweight title reign ended in retirement, despite his largely inactive spell with the belt coming during a time when the UFC had an interim champion who was fit and ready to challenge for the undisputed title. But, rather than face Tom Aspinall, and after plenty of back and forth over social media, Jones eventually informed the UFC bosses of his retirement.
It left UFC fans – and possibly the bosses, too – frustrated at the loss of one of the biggest title fights in recent years, as Jones’ career ended in anticlimactic fashion, while Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion.
But when it was announced by US President Donald Trump that he planned to host a UFC event on the White House lawn to celebrate 250 years of independence in 2026, Jones seemingly changed his tune. Declaring he was re-entering the UFC’s anti-doping pool, Jones said he’d love to return to feature on that card.
His announcement was met by excitement in some quarters, and indifference in others. And after prior comments suggesting he wasn’t too keen on bringing Jones back for that event, UFC president and CEO Dana White was quizzed about the possibility during the UFC 319 post-fight press conference, where he gave a definitive response.
“Let me ask you, what do you think Jon would do in the next couple of months that would make me trust putting him on the White House card?” White asked the reporter.
“So I already said that I don’t trust him, and you’re asking me what could he do for me to trust him in the next three months?
“You don’t trust him! I don’t talk to him either. I haven’t talked to him at all. If I had to make odds, it’s a billion-to-one that I put Jon Jones on the White House card.”
Previously, White had told Jim Rome that he had more faith in Conor McGregor making a UFC comeback than he did Jon Jones, saying that the Irishman, despite his controversies away from the Octagon, has always delivered for the UFC in a sporting sense.
“I trust Conor,” he said on The Jim Rome Show.
“Conor McGregor has never, ever – unless he is seriously injured – this guy has always delivered. Jon I’m a little more sceptical about.”
For his part, Jones heard White’s comments and insisted that he’d be ready.
“Despite the odds, I’m still training and optimistic about the possibility of being part of the White House event,” he wrote on social media.
“At the end of the day, Dana is the boss and it’s his call whether I compete that night or not. I do know Dana was really excited about the fight, and the door hasn’t been completely closed. That’s all a guy like me really needs.
Despite the odds, I’m still training and optimistic about the possibility of being part of the White House event. At the end of the day, Dana is the boss and it’s his call whether I compete that night or not. I do know Dana was really excited about the fight, and the door hasn’t…
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) August 18, 2025
“It sounds like another awesome goal to be inspired by,” he continued.
“Sometimes in life, we’re not going to reach everything we set out to do and that’s okay. But I like my chances… after all, one in a billion is exactly what it took to end up as Jon ‘Bones’ Jones in the first place.”
