Video: Jon Jones explains why he decided to come out of retirement
Jon “Bones” Jones has announced his UFC comeback, with a potential history-making fight on the White House lawn.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones recently announced his re-entry into the drug testing pool, effectively ending his retirement after a mere two weeks. This swift turnaround indicates his clear intention to compete again.
At the 2025 ESPYs, tonight Jones has finally gone public with why he decided to both retire and unretire in such a short timeframe.
Jon Jones explains why he decided to come out of retirement:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 17, 2025
"To be able to entertain the country and the world at this level at the White House means the world to me.
I'm back." 👀👀
🎥 @espn #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/gv7dfBRbXi
Jon Jones at the #ESPYS
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 17, 2025
“I sure did [retire]… but I do know that everyone loves a good comeback, right guys?” 👀👀pic.twitter.com/6qaY1OWbnE
“I was retired because I felt like I had done it all in the MMA space and believed there weren’t many challenges left for me,” Jones said. “I wanted to do something beyond championships and money. Then, Donald Trump mentioned he wanted to host a fight in the White House garden.
“That seemed like an incredible opportunity,” Jones added. “I’m a very proud American and have a bunch of very close friends in the military, and this is my act of — I can’t call it service, but to be able to entertain the country and the world at this level, at the White House, it means the world to me. So, I’m back.”
By year’s end, Jon Jones hopes to challenge the heavyweight champion in a fight at the White House.
🚨 Jon Jones wants to fight whoever is the heavyweight champion by the end of the year at the White House 👀
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 16, 2025
“As of right now the champion is Tom Aspinall, but we’ll see who’s the champion at the end of the year.”
🎥 TT / Joy Of Everything #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/h6mmCgqqt4
At the Iowa State Fairgrounds on July 3, Trump unveiled an ambitious plan. “Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White?” he asked. “We’re going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there, we’re going to build a little, we’re not, Dana is going to do it. Dana is great, one of a kind — going to be UFC fight, championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people, and we’re going to do that as part of ‘250’ also.” This announcement set the stage for a potentially historic event.