Jon Jones does not intend to recognize the 'former' in his UFC champion champion soon.
Jones gave up the heavyweight belt in June after months of uncertainty about his future. The light heavyweight legend was accused by many of holding the throne by hostage by refusing to unite the titles against the then interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Finally, clarity emerged when Dana White announced Jones's pension while he was in Azerbaijan for a UFC fighting evening in Baku. Aspinall saw that news to an undisputed status and an illustrious but often controversial career to his conclusion.
Or did it?
'Bones' not only has his decision to hang the gloves, but he also refuses to recognize his current absence of a UFC throne.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jon Jones insists that he is a 'forever champion', after all that he did in the UFC
Jones recently shivered fans when he called himself the “UFC heavyweight champion of the world” in a video on social media. And it seems that that could be a habit.
A similar situation was noticed when Jones promoted the Keton -Energiedrank. The 38-year-old appears on brand material and is labeled as the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
When he was noticed as a 'straight lie', Jones explained that he still, and will always feel that he is a UFC title holder.
“Man, we should have stamped the champion forever,” wrote Jones on X. “After everything I have done so far in the UFC, I still wake up every morning with the champion of the world. That is a feeling that nobody can ever take it from me.”
Man, we should have voted champion forever. After all I have done so far in the UFC, I still wake up every morning with the champion of the world. That is a feeling that nobody can ever take me away. https://t.co/oqeqsj3r0w
– Jonny Meat (@JonnyBoes) August 1, 2025
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Jon Jones' latest Side Quest away from the UFC Octagon
The pension of the former two-division UFC champion did not last long. Jones quickly announced comeback plans after he had shown interest in the event of President Donald Trump in the White House to celebrate 4 July next year.
For the time being, however, the resident of Rochester completes side missions away from the cage, the latter of which brought him to the Russian capital.
After drawing attention to the video announced his arrival in Moscow, Jones went to the IBA Bare Knuckle Fight Card on July 26.
From a handshake snub from UFC heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich to an offer for Jones to fight in the red square, the goat candidate had many memorable moments on Russian soil.