The UFC heavyweight title was presented at a news conference.

UFC heavyweight champion and MMA legend Jon Jones told the promotion that he had retired, Dana White said on Saturday after the promotional card in Baku. In accordance with this, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was increased to the full title.

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“Jon Jones called us and retired last night. Jon Jones was officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the Heavyweight Champion of the UFC,” White said.

The abrupt retirement eventually puts an end to one of the bizarre views in sports.

Jon Jones had fairly retired six months ago

After a decade of dominance in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division, which cemented him as one of the largest fighters in MMA history, ‘Bones’ moved to heavyweight and won the title in 2023 by Francis Ngannou against Ciryl Gane.

The UFC’s first step was to connect Jones and Stipe Miocic into a collision of two of the biggest fighters of the sport. It sounded like a fun idea, and then Miocic was injured, and the fight delayed for months. This would have been a problem in itself, but at the same time, Aspinall wasted the rest of the division and was clearly deserving – really – of a title shot.

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Jones and Miocic eventually met in November 2024, with Jones dominating the former champion to defend the title. For that, Aspinall won the interim title against Sergei Pavlovich and made the rare step to defend it against Curtis Blaydes.

A Jones-Aspinall was the only step forward, but Jones seems to think that the competition should have been more like hiding place. More months have passed without realizing. Jones enjoyed himself very much in public, While Aspinall Fum. Jones laughed at all accusations of having a younger, stronger fighter who was expected to conquer his titleBut there was really no other word for what he did.

All this happened because the UFC allowed it to happen, with White defending Jones’ status as champion with each turn, although it means that one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion on the shelf is left with little profession. White gave hope that a fight eventually occurred earlier this monthBut Jones’ final performance as champion finally said goodbye to an Irish.

Who fights Tom Aspinall first?

Aspinall will now take over as champion in an anti-climax, and the UFC figures to move quickly to give him his first real title fight. He has already beat many of the leading contenders on the division, including Pavlovich, Blaydes and Alexander Volkov, who can leave Gane as the natural choice for his first defense.

This may be the beginning of one of the UFC’s big runs as champion, but it will always be remembered as a frustrating and messy start. In the end, however, the whole saga can color Jones’ legacy much more than Aspinall’s.