Jon Jones offers grim update on timing for potential Tom Aspinall fight

Jon Jones isn’t exactly rushing back to the cage.

The reigning UFC heavyweight champion, who has recently been filming a reality show in Thailand, has been keeping himself busy outside the sport while just about everybody else is curious about when he might fight Tom Aspinall. Jones previously said in a cryptic statement that the UFC is well aware of his future plans, although the promotion hasn’t addressed his future outside of Dana White consistently promising that the fight with Aspinall is going to happen.

On Wednesday, Jones directly addressed a question about already being retired, and he didn’t exactly inspire confidence about when he’s going to compete again.

“I don’t know if I wanna call it retired,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show em. I’ve had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact. I’m genuinely enjoying life, I’m growing in different ways.”

Jones last fought this past November when he finished former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in his first title defense in the division.

Since that time, Jones hasn’t fully committed to fighting again, although White has said confidently numerous times that he expects the future Hall of Famer to return and unify the title with the interim champion in Aspinall.

Meanwhile, Aspinall has grown more and more agitated as he continues to wait with his layoff extending even further with his last fight coming back in July 2024 when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes in England.

Judging by Jones’ latest comments, he’s not expecting to compete any time soon and that may force Aspinall to make a decision regarding his own career with how long he’s wailing to wait for that fight.