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Jon Jones teases potential UFC return less than a month after retirement

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 9:03 AM ET

To no one’s great surprise, former UFC star Jon Jones is already teasing that his retirement may not last very long.

Considered by many to be the GOAT of MMA, Jones established himself as an all-time great during his time with the UFC light heavyweight belt before he moved up to heavyweight in 2023 and also claimed that division's vacant title.

A victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 ended up being Jones’ lone heavyweight title defense, as the 37-year-old opted not to fight interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall and retired from competition last month.

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Jon Jones & Conor McGregor Eye White House UFC Fights

The UFC has still been at the forefront of combat sports headlines this week even with no event scheduled, as President Donald Trump claimed that he intends for the promotion to host either a fight or a full-fledged event on the 250th birthday of the United States next year.

Conor McGregor, who hasn’t stepped into the Octagon in four years at this point, was quick to throw his name in as a candidate for the White House event, and despite having only retired a few weeks ago the idea apparently caught Jones’ attention as well.

Fighting at the White House?
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) July 4, 2025

“Fighting at the White House?”

¨Bones¨ Claims He's Re-Entered UFC Fighter Testing Pool

The former two-division champion regularly interacted with fans online during the lengthy saga around a title unification bout with Aspinall, and following his initial post about the White House the 37-year-old decided to stir things up even further by claiming that he’s re-entered the UFC testing pool for active fighters.

Just re-entered the testing pool, that lasted for about two weeks. Figured we’d keep everyone’s options open.
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) July 4, 2025

“Just re-entered the testing pool, that lasted for about two weeks. Figured we’d keep everyone’s options open.”

Dana White likely won’t comment on Jones' claim until the UFC CEO appears at either next week’s UFC Nashville or the following’s week’s UFC 318 card in New Orleans, but based on Tom Aspinall’s latest update it looks like the promotion already has something in mind for his first undisputed title defense.

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Fans are well-aware at this point that MMA retirement s rarely last, and now it remains to be seen if Jones is just taking an opportunity to keep his name in combat sports headlines or if he’s truly grown restless already after being retired for less than a month.