Jon Jones has cleared one other hurdle together with his plan to struggle once more after a really temporary retirement that lasted all of two weeks.
The previous heavyweight and light-weight heavyweight champion referred to as it a profession however then rapidly modified his thoughts after President Donald Trump introduced plans to carry a UFC occasion on the White Home in 2026. That was all it took for Jones determine he wished to compete once more regardless of relinquishing his heavyweight title, which topped Tom Aspinall because the undisputed champion.
With retirement, fighters are pulled from the UFC’s anti-doping program however now Jones is being examined once more after registering a brand new lead to his third pattern given thus far in 2025. Fighters popping out of retirement — irrespective of how temporary — are anticipated to bear six months of testing earlier than being allowed to compete once more.
It’s unclear if the UFC would think about waiving that point interval for Jones contemplating how rapidly his retirement got here and went, however he’s additionally teased that his in the end plan is preventing on the White Home card, which isn’t anticipated till July 2026.
In earlier feedback, Jones stated he wished to face the very best heavyweight in his return however he by no means talked about Aspinall by title. After all, Jones and Aspinall had been rumored for a struggle for a number of months however the matchup by no means got here collectively.
Aspinall is now scheduled to face Ciryl Gane within the UFC 321 most important occasion in October with the struggle happening in Abu Dhabi.
It stays to be seen if the UFC would really e book Jones towards the winner of that struggle, however he’s not less than taken the required step to compete once more after receiving his newest drug check underneath the anti-doping program.
