Blended martial arts (MMA) legend Jon Jones has retired, and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been elevated to the undisputed title holder, Dana White, the Final Preventing Championship (UFC) president and CEO, confirmed.
“Jon Jones known as us final night time and retired,” White stated throughout a information convention on Saturday in Azerbaijan, the place UFC Combat Night time was held.
“Jon Jones is formally retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”
Jones, who turns 38 on July 19, has compiled a win-loss file of 28-1 with 11 complete knockouts (TKOs), capturing UFC titles at mild heavyweight and heavyweight. He was in line for a extremely anticipated unification bout with Aspinall, 32, who grew to become the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion in November 2023 when an injured Jones couldn’t combat.
Englishman Aspinall (15-3 win-loss in MMA, 11 TKOs, 8-1 win-loss in UFC) posted a message on Instagram after White’s announcement.
“For you followers. It’s time to get this heavyweight division going,” wrote Aspinall, 32. “An energetic undisputed champion.”
New period at heavyweight 😤
The undisputed heavyweight champ (@AspinallMMA) is able to get issues going! pic.twitter.com/2yZpJ7Ghtg
— UFC (@ufc) June 21, 2025
Jones final fought on November 16, 2024, profitable by a third-round TKO over Stipe Miocic. Jones has gained six consecutive bouts since a no contest with Daniel Cormier on July 29, 2017.
White’s announcement countered phrases of Jones on Thursday when he appeared on the “Full Ship” podcast.
“I don’t wish to say that I’m retired as a result of combating’s in my blood,” Jones stated on the podcast, per a number of media stories. “Proper now, I may actually care much less about combating. I’ve been doing it my entire life at a really excessive degree and when the itch comes again – and if it comes again too, then I’ll do it with my entire coronary heart, do it to the most effective of my skills.”
Jones has had a chequered historical past out of the octagon, the place he grew to become the youngest UFC title holder at age 23 with a win over Mauricio Rua for the 205-pound crown. Jones, who’s 16-0 in UFC title bouts, has handled authorized points was effectively as a yearlong suspension in 2016 for testing constructive for performance-enhancing medicine – a end result he disputes.
Rountree Jr downs Hill in Baku
In the meantime, former UFC mild heavyweight title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr earned a dominant unanimous determination in opposition to Jamahal Hill in the primary occasion of the Combat Night time, taking the playing cards 49-46, 50-45, 50-45.
Utilising leg kicks and knocking the previous mild heavyweight champion down on a number of events, Rountree Jr (15-6 win-loss in MMA) is open to a number of choices for his subsequent combat, so long as he stays within the mild heavyweight title image.
“I didn’t are available right here underestimating Jamahal,” Rountree stated.
Hill (12-4 win-loss in MMA) has misplaced three in a row and is looking for his first win since January 2023.
The co-main occasion went the way in which of hometown light-weight Rafael Fiziev (13-4 win-loss in MMA), profitable a unanimous determination in opposition to Ignacio Bahamondes 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for his first victory since July 2022. Fiziev’s putting skill made the distinction, because it was the primary loss for Bahamondes (17-6 win-loss in MMA) since August 2023. Fiziev doesn’t want whom he fights subsequent, as he entered the bout ranked eleventh within the division.
Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes outlasted debutant Rizvan Kuniev, incomes a cut up determination 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Blaydes (19-5 win-loss in MMA) bounced again after falling sufferer to UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall final July at UFC 304.
In some of the high-octane UFC fights in latest reminiscence, light-weight Nazim Sadykhov overcame a Herculean effort from Nikolas Motta to safe a late second-round TKO at 4:17. Sadykhov was almost completed by a plethora of Motta strikes within the first spherical earlier than Sadykhov turned the combat round within the second. Sadykhov (11-1-1 win-loss MMA) has gained 11 of his final 13 fights, touchdown a 75-punch mixture to seal the deal. Motta (15-6 win-loss MMA) suffered his first loss since June 2023.