Combined 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 Combating Championship (UFC) president and CEO, confirmed.
“Jon Jones referred to as us final evening and retired,” White mentioned throughout a information convention on Saturday in Azerbaijan, the place UFC Combat Evening 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 whole knockouts (TKOs), capturing UFC titles at mild heavyweight and heavyweight. He was in line for a extremely anticipated unification bout with Aspinall, 32, who turned the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion in November 2023 when an injured Jones couldn’t battle.
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 lively 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 last fought on November 16, 2024, successful 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 need to say that I’m retired as a result of preventing’s in my blood,” Jones mentioned on the podcast, per a number of media reviews. “Proper now, I may actually care much less about preventing. I’ve been doing it my complete life at a really excessive stage and when the itch comes again – and if it comes again too, then I’ll do it with my complete coronary heart, do it to the most effective of my talents.”
Jones has had a chequered historical past out of the octagon, the place he turned 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 nicely as a yearlong suspension in 2016 for testing optimistic 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 choice towards Jamahal Hill in the primary occasion of the Combat Evening, 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 battle, so long as he stays within the mild heavyweight title image.
“I didn’t are available in right here underestimating Jamahal,” Rountree mentioned.
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 best way of hometown light-weight Rafael Fiziev (13-4 win-loss in MMA), successful a unanimous choice towards Ignacio Bahamondes 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for his first victory since July 2022. Fiziev’s putting potential 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 choice 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 one of the vital 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 practically completed by a plethora of Motta strikes within the first spherical earlier than Sadykhov turned the battle 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.
