Jon Jones has cleared another hurdle with his plan to fight again after a very brief retirement that lasted all of two weeks.
The former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion called it a career but then quickly changed his mind after President Donald Trump announced plans to hold a UFC event at the White House in 2026. That was all it took for Jones decide he wanted to compete again despite relinquishing his heavyweight title, which crowned Tom Aspinall as the undisputed champion.
With retirement, fighters are pulled from the UFC’s anti-doping program but now Jones is being tested again after registering a new result in his third sample given so far in 2025. Fighters coming out of retirement — no matter how brief — are expected to undergo six months of testing before being allowed to compete again.
It’s unclear if the UFC would consider waiving that time period for Jones considering how quickly his retirement came and went, but he’s also teased that his ultimately plan is fighting on the White House card, which isn’t expected until July 2026.
In previous comments, Jones said he wanted to face the best heavyweight in his return but he never mentioned Aspinall by name. Of course, Jones and Aspinall were rumored for a fight for several months but the matchup never came together.
Aspinall is now scheduled to face Ciryl Gane in the UFC 321 main event in October with the fight taking place in Abu Dhabi.
It remains to be seen if the UFC would actually book Jones against the winner of that fight, but he’s at least taken the necessary step to compete again after receiving his latest drug test under the anti-doping program.
