Retired? Unretired? Somewhere in between?
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two-division champion Jon Jones still hasn’t fought since dismantling Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 — and ever since that victory, “Bones” has seemingly announced his retirement about a thousand different times.
Yet despite repeatedly insisting he’s done with MMA, Jones continues teasing future fights and combat sports opportunities every other week.
Last weekend at MVP MMA 1, Jones was seen verbally sparring with former
UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, reigniting speculation about a long-discussed superfight between the two heavyweight stars.
Jones also recently floated the idea that he would like out of his UFC contract — which will never, ever happen.
But what about boxing? — a sport that has “Bones” has never really excelled at.
Jones is expected to travel to Russia for the upcoming IBA Bare Knuckle tournament, where he could potentially meet with International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev to discuss a possible future in boxing.
And Kremlev certainly sounds interested.
“If we are talking about a potential move into boxing for Jon Jones, these are the kinds of stories that interest us,” Kremlev told BoxingScene. “Jones in the ring against Daniel Cormier or Francis Ngannou, but under boxing rules — these are the fights that the whole world is talking about and waiting for.”
Well… maybe “the whole world” is a massive stretch.
Also, the problem is obvious.
Jones cannot get released from his UFC contract to fight MMA competitors outside the organization, why exactly would the promotion suddenly approve outside boxing matches now?
Historically, UFC has tightly controlled its stars when it comes to crossover combat sports opportunities unless the financial upside is astronomical.
And while Jones remains one of the biggest names in MMA history, it is hard to imagine the UFC rushing to co-promote boxing events in Russia.
For now, this feels more like another chapter in the ongoing “Is Jon Jones retired?” saga than an actual finalized career move.
Then again, with Jones, things tend to change every other week.
