For years,Jon Jones has been the gold standard in mixed martial arts— a fighter so dominant that even after years away, he returned and won the UFC heavyweight title with ease. But now, after suffering a torn pectoral muscle that forced him out of UFC 295, the question looms: Will we ever see him fight again?
At 37, with a legacy already cemented and a body that’s taken years of punishment, Jones faces a critical point in his career. Some believe he’ll return for one final fight. Others, like former fighter Ben Askren, aren’t so sure.
Jon Jones Has Been Battling Between Recovery and Retirement
Jon Jones was supposed to face Stipe Miocic in one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in UFC history. It was a matchup built on legacy—two of the greatest champions of their respective eras colliding for one last defining moment. But injuries don’t care about legacies. His torn pectoral muscle threw everything into question, and now, as months pass with little news, the possibility of retirement feels more real than ever.
Askren recently weighed in on the situation, saying, “If I had to put odds on it, I’d say there’s less than a 50 percent chance that Jon Jones ever fights again.” And he has a point. Fighters at this stage don’t always bounce back, especially when they’ve already accomplished everything there is to achieve. The hunger to return has to outweigh the reality of recovery, training camps, and the risk of another injury.
Yet, Jones is no ordinary fighter. He spent three years on the sidelines before moving up to heavyweight and looked as dominant as ever. He’s teased the idea of a return, and UFC President Dana White has maintained that the Jones vs. Miocic fight is still the plan. But plans are just that— until Jones is back in training, there’s no guarantee he steps into the cage again.
“That one ain’t happening,” Askren wrote. “Obviously, I was outside of the UFC for a long time and I always had the desire, yes I would love to fight these guys, but I’m under no delusion that Dana White is going to do some type of co-promote or something because he just doesn’t do that. So the idea that Francis is going to fight Jon, that’s a pipe dream.”
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If this truly is the end, Jones walks away as one of the greatest to ever do it. But if he can recover and find the motivation to fight again, he has the chance to close his career on his own terms. Right now, it’s a waiting game. Either way, his place in history is already secure.
