Dana White Denies Jon Jones' Claim About Retirement Timeline, 'Believe Who You Want'

Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones once again caused a stir when he claimed that he's been retired for months, but UFC president Dana White isn't letting that fly.

Jones has been very active on social media in his time away from the Octagon, and he responded to a fan with a pair of tweets saying that he was retired well before last week's official announcement.

"I was told 1,000 times to just reconsider and just give it more time. That’s the truth," Jones wrote, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "If the fight was done, trust me, I would be fighting. Did we start negotiating at one point yes, but [it] was never done. My job at the time was to sit back and be quiet about it and that’s exactly what I did. I was enjoying my life that should’ve been obvious to you guys."

During the UFC 317 post-fight press conference on Saturday night, White was asked about Jones' claim, and he disputed the notion that the company knew he was retired the entire time while still trying to convince him to fight Tom Aspinall.

"That’s not true," White said about Jones’ claims he effectively retired this past November, per Martin. "I’m telling you the truth. Believe who you want to believe."

Jones defeated Stipe Miocic to retain his heavyweight title in November, and many were hoping to see him face Aspinall, who had won the interim heavyweight championship while he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Instead, Jones showed no interest in facing Aspinall, and the UFC finally announced last week that he officially retired, elevating Aspinall to undisputed champion.

The UFC has yet to decide what's next for Aspinall, but it's clear that White is ready to move on from Jones at this point.