Jon Jones’ UFC heavyweight title reign, and legendary career, officially came to an end on June 21.
The news was first announced at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference where Dana White told the media that Jones had retired.
Jones confirmed this via his social media as ‘Bones’ posted a long statement as he reflected on his career after stepping away at 37 years old.
For the heavyweight division, this means that there can finally be movement again at the top of the rankings with the newly promoted undisputed champion Tom Aspinall being fired up to make his return.
Had the UFC further delayed their decision of whether to strip Jones of the belt or not, the consensus greatest of all time could have added another record to his list of accolades which would’ve felt unjust.
Josh Thomson is glad that Jon Jones didn’t break Cain Velasquez’s record as the longest reigning UFC heavyweight champion
From submitting Ciryl Gane in just over two minutes at UFC 285 in March of 2023 to the confirmation of his retirement on June 21, Jon Jones only defended the heavyweight title once.
Fans were critical of his matchup with a returning Stipe Miocic with frustrations only continuing to grow after the fight was pushed back a whole year due to an injury that the champion suffered ahead of UFC 295.
Aspinall correctly predicted that Jones wouldn’t fight him after he beat Miocic in dominant fashion at UFC 309 and now, after seven months of waiting, we now know the future of the UFC heavyweight title.
With his reign coming in at a total of 840 days, ‘Bones’ was just 56 days away from equalling the UFC record for the longest heavyweight title reign.
That record (896 days) is currently held by Cain Velasquez who won the title at UFC 155 in December of 2012 and held it until UFC 188 in June of 2015, with his reign also being extended due to a significant injury.
In a reaction to Jones’ retirement, former UFC fighter Josh Thomson, who previously trained with Velasquez at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), stated that he was glad that Jones hadn’t taken this record from Velasquez following an underwhelming title reign.
“Glad Jon Jones didn’t break Cain Velasquez HW title length as champion by not fighting. Glad MMA can move on from this chapter. It’s #TomTime @AspinallMMA”
Jon Jones does hold a different UFC record after retiring and vacating the heavyweight title
While Jon Jones didn’t become the longest reigning UFC heavyweight champion of all time, his exit from the sport has seen him extend a different record.
‘Bones’ has had four different title reigns all end without the belt changing hands because he was beaten inside the Octagon.
During his light heavyweight days, Jones was stripped of the belt before reclaiming it on two occasions due to controversies both in and out of the Octagon.
He has also vacated titles twice, with his final run at 205 pounds ending when Jones made the call to give up the belt so that he could take time off to prepare for a heavyweight move.