Jon Jones still won’t say the word retired. Talking to The Schmo this week, the former two-division champion called missing the UFC White House card one of his big regrets in life, then tacked on a hedge every matchmaker in Las Vegas will read twice: “But if I never fight again, I think I’m pretty damn happy.”
That little two-letter conditional is doing a lot of lifting. DAZN framed it as Jones opening the door to a comeback, which is fair. He didn’t name an opponent, float a date or say he’s in camp. He just declined to shut it.
The regret part was blunt. “I usually don’t regret decisions, but that was one of my big regrets in life: not being a part of the White House,” Jones said. He’d been linked to a possible return at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn in June. It never happened. That card went on without him, and it delivered. Justin Gaethje handed Ilia Topuria his first loss, and Josh Hokit knocked out Derrick Lewis.
Jones hasn’t fought since November 2024, when he stopped Stipe Miocic by TKO in the UFC 309 main event at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. That fight had already been pushed back a year by a pectoral injury. After it, the unification bout with then-interim champ Tom Aspinall never came together either. Jones sounds at peace with the Miocic win being the last word. “Stipe Miocic was considered the greatest heavyweight of all time. You know, we’re both older, but to defeat him, I don’t really see how it can get bigger than that,” he said.
The division didn’t wait for him. Aspinall vacated the title, Ciryl Gane went from interim holder to undisputed champion, and as Ariel Helwani reported, Gane was originally expected to meet Aspinall at Madison Square Garden before the Englishman withdrew. Hokit, 10-0 and a 2025 Contender Series signee, took the shot. He gets Gane at UFC 334.
Jones knows Gane well. He submitted him with a guillotine in under three minutes at UFC 285 in 2023 to win heavyweight gold in his debut at the weight. Now both men are part of his Jackson Wink family, and Jones gave the most diplomatic pick you’ll hear all year. “So my prediction is that I believe Hokit very well could win, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it doesn’t make our brand look great when Ciryl Gane beats people. So may the best man win.”
Most of his energy lately is going into coaching Gable Steveson. The Olympic gold medalist got flattened in 12 seconds by Sean Sharaf at UFC 331 as a -2400 favorite, and Matt Brown and Colby Covington both suggested he leave Jones’ camp. Jones isn’t having it, though he did admit the room needs work. “I feel like, as a team, we need to add a lot more sparring,” he said.
Even the new kids are measuring themselves against him. Smilla Sundell, the 21-year-old who earned a contract at the Contender Series finale on Oct. 13, has said she wants to break Jones’ record as the youngest UFC champion, which he set at 23 years and 8 months.
My take: the obvious comeback fight is whoever leaves UFC 334 with the belt, and either way that’s a guy from his own gym. That’s an awkward reason to lace them up again at this stage. Until Jones names an opponent out loud, file this under a legend enjoying the porch, with one eye on the street.
