Jon Jones Says He Re-Entered Drug Testing Pool 2 Weeks After UFC Retirement

Jon Jones retired two weeks ago, but that time away from the Octagon may not last as the ex-light heavyweight and heavyweight champion revealed Friday that he has re-entered the organization's drug-testing pool.

UFC President Dana White revealed two weeks ago that Jones told the organization that he retired. Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall then became the weight class' official title holder as a result.

The news of Jones re-entering the drug-testing pool dropped after President Donald Trump announced his intentions to have a UFC match at the White House as part of a celebration celebrating the United States' 250th birthday.

Per Mark Puleo of The Athletic, a UFC spokesperson confirmed those plans.

Jones is arguably the best fighter in UFC history. For his entire MMA professional career, the 37-year-old sports a record of 28 wins, one loss and one no-contest. Jones held the light heavyweight championship in two separate stints and later moved up in weight class and won the vacant heavyweight title with a first-round submission win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023. He later defended the belt with a third-round TKO over Stipe Miocic in Nov. 2024.

The next logical opponent would have been interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. White told TheMacLife that they had the fight "done" but Jones changed his mind.

"The fight was done. We had the fight done a long time ago," White told The MacLife on June 22 (h/t Jeff Cain of MMA Weekly). "Why he decided not to fight, you guys will have to ask him that."

Jones disputed White's notion.

Perhaps Jones re-entering the drug testing pool leads to this fight actually happening. Regardless, it appears that Jones is keeping his options open for a return.