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Jon Jones is more than amped up for a potential UFC/MMA return after recanting his retirement in just under two weeks. Jones is hoping he makes it to next June’s White House event as a staple fighter, even though odds are stacked against him.
The upcoming “America 250” White House PPV lineup, now in June and possibly lining up with IFW, will mark a year exact since Jon Jones called it quits. However, he took a rapid U-turn and gradually entered the DFSI testing pools to make the 2026 card.
Meanwhile, the ex-UFC two-weight champion is keeping busy with X5 times training a week, despite ‘billion to one’ meteoric odds from the UFC boss. ‘Bones’ also coached for Gable Steveson’s MMA debut, with the former Olympian (wrestler) coming off with flying colors. Ready to pitch his worth and a proper ‘historian’, Jones is back to self-touting his GOAT legacy and admits coaching feels rather easier. He also doused that with someone like Steveson, it felt like easy bet.
Coaching is always rewarding… but let’s be honest, when the athlete is @Gable Steveson, it feels like cheating. Man’s a human cheat code and we just get to hold the controller.
Jon Jones via IG (@jonnybones)
A two-time NCAA Division I national/ four-time Big Ten Champ, Gable Steveson has been routing this MMA route for long. He’s as good as they come and even got signed to entertainment wrestling after a brief stint on WWE SummerSlam’21. While the only #2 Olympic gold medalist after Kurt Angle to do so, his pitch and tele presence were poorly received.
The Portage, Indiana, U.S. native, a buff athlete, also signed with the Buffalo Bills but was separated before the onset of the NFL ’24 regular season. Along with prepping for his MMA debut, Steveson also helped Jones train for his UFC HW maiden title defense against Stipe Miocic last November.
After his UFC 309 PPV main event victory, Jones and Steveson went full-fledged with the training. He made his debut this September 12 at LFA 217 and won via first-round TKO. And MMA’s greatest fighter, Bones, is all here for it. In his MMA debut, Steveson met former police officer Braden Peterson. Peterson, who is 37 years old, was 1-0 as a pro fighter and had participated in five amateur ballot bouts.
As for Jones, despite his earnest claims, he’s far away from a UFC bout headlining the South lawn, or any for that matter. Before the Olympic gold medalist wrestler, Jones was co-coaching a Russian reality TV show adaptation of “The Ultimate Fighter” in Thailand. However, a melee broke out against the other team led by Nate Diaz, and it came to an unceremonious end.
During and after the frame, Jones also held what he called the greatest-ever sessions at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, in Phuket. While teasing and subtly agreeing to return in ‘2026’ for a supposed fight with Tom Aspinall, he later abruptly quit and soured it. Now, his chances at headlining the 2026 mega card are taking quite the hit for it.
UFC CEO Dana White gives latest White House card updates, SANS Jon Jones as headliner
Jon Jones means to prove his boss and naysayers wrong, and per UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) standards, he can be cleared by commission officials after the 6-month phase. UFC CEO and headman Dana White, though, is dead-set that Jones would do nothing new amid his habitual vices, which’d assure granting him a headlining spot.
Jones has reneged on a $30 Mil PPV compensatory ask and held up the division for two years, just to walk away. A White House UFC headliner warrants reliability and during the initial #CaneloVsCrawford Kickoff media press conference, White said Jones walked out on a done deal to fight Aspinall. That’s not something brass and UFC Execs can risk for this mega card.
Hence, despite Jones claiming he’d make it up and stay hopeful, White put him off for such a once-in-a-lifetime card.
Jones, Jones…[He is] is the greatest of all time, I still know that to be a fact, …But he’s not the greatest of all time, ‘guy you can count on that you know 100 per cent is going to be solid and be there’. Say what you want about Conor McGregor, because people like to talk sh*t about that too — But given all that, he’s THE guy [who delivers]…He’s always been that guy, I’ve been in the room and on the phone with him. There are a lot of guys who talk tough publicly, but behind the scenes, it’s a whole other ball game.
Dana White on The W.A.D.E. Concept (@TheWADEConcept)
Moving it one month before to June means the thematic all-American vs. UK Heavyweight title showdown (AKA fight against Aspinall) need not happen. Meanwhile, Aspinall has moved on already, and other staple fighters are pitching in for the card. In no way does it look like Jones would make the cut and the boss has tagged Conor McGregor as more reliable for it.
ALSO READ: Jon Jones Says He’s ‘Unretired’, Still Training For ‘Billion To One’ Parlay White House Showdown
