Tom Aspinall is UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champ as Jon Jones retires

‘Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion,’ UFC main Dana White confirms successful Baku.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fable Jon Jones has retired, and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been elevated to the undisputed rubric holder, Dana White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president and CEO, confirmed.

“Jon Jones called america past nighttime and retired,” White said during a quality league connected Saturday successful Azerbaijan, wherever UFC Fight Night was held.

“Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.”

Jones, who turns 38 connected July 19, has compiled a win-loss grounds of 28-1 with 11 full knockouts (TKOs), capturing UFC titles astatine airy heavyweight and heavyweight. He was successful enactment for a highly anticipated unification bout with Aspinall, 32, who became the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion successful November 2023 erstwhile an injured Jones could not fight.

Englishman Aspinall (15-3 win-loss successful MMA, 11 TKOs, 8-1 win-loss successful UFC) posted a connection connected Instagram aft White’s announcement.

“For you fans. It’s clip to get this heavyweight part going,” wrote Aspinall, 32. “An progressive undisputed champion.”

New epoch astatine heavyweight 😤

The undisputed heavyweight champ (@AspinallMMA) is acceptable to get things going! pic.twitter.com/2yZpJ7Ghtg

— UFC (@ufc) June 21, 2025

Jones last fought connected November 16, 2024, winning by a third-round TKO implicit Stipe Miocic. Jones has won six consecutive bouts since a nary contention with Daniel Cormier connected July 29, 2017.

White’s announcement countered words of Jones connected Thursday erstwhile helium appeared connected the “Full Send” podcast.

“I don’t privation to accidental that I’m retired due to the fact that fighting’s successful my blood,” Jones said connected the podcast, per aggregate media reports. “Right now, I could truly attraction little astir fighting. I’ve been doing it my full beingness astatine a precise precocious level and erstwhile the itch comes backmost – and if it comes backmost too, past I’ll bash it with my full heart, bash it to the champion of my abilities.”

Jones has had a chequered past retired of the octagon, wherever helium became the youngest UFC rubric holder astatine property 23 with a triumph implicit Mauricio Rua for the 205-pound crown. Jones, who is 16-0 successful UFC rubric bouts, has dealt with ineligible issues was good arsenic a yearlong suspension successful 2016 for investigating affirmative for performance-enhancing drugs – a effect helium disputes.

US President Donald Trump watched arsenic Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic astatine UFC 309 connected November 17, 2024, successful New York [Evan Vucci/AP Photo]

Rountree Jr downs Hill successful Baku

Meanwhile, erstwhile UFC airy heavyweight rubric challenger Khalil Rountree Jr earned a ascendant unanimous determination against Jamahal Hill successful the main lawsuit of the Fight Night, taking the cards 49-46, 50-45, 50-45.

Utilising limb kicks and knocking the erstwhile airy heavyweight champion down connected respective occasions, Rountree Jr (15-6 win-loss successful MMA) is unfastened to aggregate options for his adjacent fight, arsenic agelong arsenic helium remains successful the airy heavyweight rubric picture.

“I didn’t travel successful present underestimating Jamahal,” Rountree said.

Hill (12-4 win-loss successful MMA) has mislaid 3 successful a enactment and is searching for his archetypal triumph since January 2023.

The co-main lawsuit went the mode of hometown lightweight Rafael Fiziev (13-4 win-loss successful MMA), winning a unanimous determination against Ignacio Bahamondes 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for his archetypal triumph since July 2022. Fiziev’s striking quality made the difference, arsenic it was the archetypal nonaccomplishment for Bahamondes (17-6 win-loss successful MMA) since August 2023. Fiziev does not similar whom helium fights next, arsenic helium entered the bout ranked 11th in the division.

Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes outlasted debutant Rizvan Kuniev, earning a divided determination 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Blaydes (19-5 win-loss successful MMA) bounced backmost aft falling unfortunate to UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall past July astatine UFC 304.

In 1 of the astir high-octane UFC fights successful caller memory, lightweight Nazim Sadykhov overcame a Herculean effort from Nikolas Motta to unafraid a precocious second-round TKO astatine 4:17. Sadykhov was astir finished by a plethora of Motta strikes successful the archetypal circular earlier Sadykhov turned the combat astir successful the second. Sadykhov (11-1-1 win-loss MMA) has won 11 of his past 13 fights, landing a 75-punch operation to seal the deal. Motta (15-6 win-loss MMA) suffered his archetypal nonaccomplishment since June 2023.