The UFC’s heavyweight throne has a new king, officially. After months of whispers, delays, and dashed hopes, Dana White confirmed what many feared but few believed. “Jon Jones called us last night and retired,” he said at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference. “Jon Jones is officially retired.”
And in that same breath, White made it clear that “Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.” Let that sink in. Nineteen months after starching Sergei Pavlovich to claim interim gold, Aspinall is now the undisputed king. No more asterisk next to his title. It’s his division now.
So what’s next? The UFC boss was asked the same question, and while he kept it close to the chest, he gave fans something to look forward to as he revealed, “International Fight Week starts Monday in Las Vegas. And Tom will be in Vegas all week with us. So we’ll get together with him and figure out what’s next.”
Aspinall’s time has come. But the shadow of what could’ve been, Jones vs. Aspinall, still lingers. Was Jones ever serious about defending the belt? Or did he know deep down that facing Aspinall would be a risk too great? It’s hard to tell.
TOM ASPINALL IS THE OFFICIAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP@DanaWhite has announced that Jon Jones has RETIRED, thus elevating @AspinallMMA to become the heavyweight champ pic.twitter.com/oJ8a9nl8KT
— UFC (@ufc) June 21, 2025
For now, the division resets. And Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world, may soon provide us with more answers about what the future holds for the newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion!
(More to follow…)
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