Defiant Jon Jones ‘still training’ for UFC White House, shrugs off Dana White’s discouraging odds – ‘I like my chances’
“Bones” isn’t giving up.
This past weekend, during the UFC 319 post-fight press conference (watch here), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White all but confirmed that former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion Jon Jones will not be on next year’s monumental UFC White House card, scheduled for July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
White doubled down, stating he no longer trusts Jones (again) and gave “billion-to-one” odds of Jones appearing on the
historic card.
As soon as that quote left White’s mouth, everyone knew Jones would respond. Today, two days later, “Bones” took to social media with his rebuttal.
“Despite the odds, I’m still training and optimistic about the possibility of being part of the White House event,” Jones wrote. At the end of the day, Dana is the boss and it’s his call whether I compete that night or not. I do know Dana was really excited about the fight, and the door hasn’t been completely closed. That’s all a guy like me really needs. It sounds like another awesome goal to be inspired by. Sometimes in life, we’re not going to reach everything we set out to do and that’s okay. But I like my chances… after all, one in a billion is exactly what it took to end up as Jon ‘Bones’ Jones in the first place.”
Despite the odds, I’m still training and optimistic about the possibility of being part of the White House event. At the end of the day, Dana is the boss and it’s his call whether I compete that night or not. I do know Dana was really excited about the fight, and the door hasn’t…
Jones needs to face reality: his White House dreams are over. White seems completely fed up, and it’s hard to fault the UFC boss. With Jones duckingTom Aspinall, it torpedoed plans for what was hyped as “the biggest Heavyweight clash in UFC history.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Jones announced his retirement in mid-June, only to backtrack last month when the White House event hit the headlines.
