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Jon Jones preparing for UFC return even as Dana White downplays chances

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 8:56 AM ET

Jon Jones is still adamant about his UFC return, targeting a comeback fight at the UFC White House card on July 4, 2026. This is despite UFC Boss Dana White giving him "billion-to-one" odds of appearing on the card.

'Bones' has headlined every card he's appeared on since 2011, and his name has become somewhat synonymous with the UFC - it's unthinkable that their undisputed greatest fighter of all time would not headline the White House event, especially considering he's American.

However, as White would point out in August, “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? . . . If I had to make odds, it’s a billion-to-one that I put Jon Jones on the White House card.”

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Jon Jones defies discouragement from Dana White, alleges he is training 5 days a week for UFC White House

Now cleared of his implication in a hit-and-run incident in February, Jones is back in the gym and makes his intentions very clear.

"I'm not retired," Jones told his publicist, Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management, the firm that represents him. "I'm actively training five days a week and I'm in the UFC's drug testing pool. [The White House fight] is kind of out of my control right now. I'm training for the event, I'm ready for the event, that's my goal, that's my intention.

"But ultimately it's up to the boss."

Jon Jones says he is NOT retired and is training 5 days a week for the UFC White House event

"I'm not retired, I'm actively training 5 days a week and I'm in the UFC's drug testing pool...

I'm training for the [White House] event, I'll be ready for the event... but… pic.twitter.com/dS6r3uBiYZ
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 8, 2025

Injuries and nebulous fight politics kept Jones out of action for the majority of his heavyweight title reign. 'Bones' held the title for over 800 days, defending it once against Stipe Miocic, who hadn't fought since a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021.

Interim champion Tom Aspinall was champing at the bit for an undisputed fight for most of that time, and as a result, many fans branded Jones a 'duck,' and even put together a petition with nearly 200,000 verified signatures to boot him from the title picture.

The exact reason behind Jones’ feigned retirement remains unclear, though it may have been a misstep given White’s seemingly low regard for his former star.