At this point, it seems as though the UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is just playing the game and attempting to troll the fanbase.
Ever since his UFC 309 win over Stipe Miocic last November, Jon Jones has been hounded by the UFC fanbase to unify the title against interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
After continuing to delay the fight, Jones has been accused of ‘mentally exhausting’ Aspinall by his former opponent, Anthony Smith.
During his time out of the Octagon, Jon Jones is currently in Thailand where he is filming for a Russian reality TV series, in which he will bizarrely take on Nate Diaz.
Jones eases fan fears about UFC retirement following recent comments
Whilst out in Thailand, Jones has been seen meeting up with Hasbulla, which has of course frustrated the UFC fanbase even further, as there continues to be no news regarding his next fight.
And despite Dana White’s guarantee that Jones will fight this year, the consensus greatest fighter of all time then dropped a huge hint about his UFC retirement after he told an old teammate, ‘I’m done’ during a facetime call that was caught on camera.
‘Bones’ comments came just hours after he stated that he has told the UFC about his plans, questioning why they haven’t made the fans aware yet.
However, now just hours after claiming he’s ‘done’, the 37-year-old champion has attempted to ease fans’ fears that he is retiring with a message on his social media.
“What I feel like returning to the UFC after some much needed downtime,” Jones said whilst reposting a video of a dog chasing other dogs out of its yard.
When could Jon Jones return to take on Tom Aspinall?
With Jones now hinting that he will return to the UFC despite claiming ‘I’m done’, there is only one date that makes the most sense for the title unification fight.
The promotion has their next four pay-per-view main events already scheduled and their September PPV event is scheduled to be UFC Noche, also known as UFC 320, which takes place in Guadalajara.
Rumors have been circulating that the UFC’s October PPV will take place in Abu Dhabi, which Jones is extremely unlikely to headline.
That leaves November as the most likely next date for Jones vs Aspinall to take place, which usually takes place in Madison Square Garden and Jones headlined the last MSG card.