“The greatest of all time is Jon Jones… Jon Jones has been around forever. He has fought everybody in the light heavyweight division. Now he’s in the heavyweight division beating guys.” There was a time when Dana White didn’t forgive anyone who went against his notion of Jon Jones being the GOAT of MMA. However, things seem to have changed a bit. With ‘Bones’ arguably evading a fight against Tom Aspinall to unite the heavyweight belts, White and the MMA realm have begun losing patience. Aspinall has already confessed that he doesn’t care about fighting Jones anymore. On the other hand, White claimed that if Jones wasn’t willing to fight, he might have his belt stripped. But does the heavyweight champion care?
When a fan asked about his plans for a comeback and if he was actually stripped of his title, ‘Bones’ claimed, “Stripped? Lol do I come across as the type of person who cares about things like that? Ya’ll barking up the wrong tree, I told the UFC my plans a long time ago. I have no clue why they haven’t shared them with you guys yet.” On top of that, he even refused to retire. And now, things were a bit more troublesome for the heavyweight champion.
Well, a viral video shows Jon Jones enjoying himself in a pool with a few of his friends. An account on Instagram, going by the name KnockoutAlerts, shared the visual on the social media platform. The caption to the post read, “[Jon Jones] having fun in Thailand!” Needless to say, watching ‘Bones’ swirl around in an infinity pool instead of preparing to fight the interim heavyweight champion wasn’t something that the fighting community liked.
It has been almost half a year since Jon Jones was last seen in action. His last fight was on November 16, 2024, at UFC 309, where he successfully defended his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic with a third-round TKO at Madison Square Garden. Since that time, there has been no official announcement regarding his next bout. At the same time, he has made it clear that there is no retirement in sight. “Ya’ll barking up the wrong tree, I told the UFC my plans a long time ago. I have no clue why they haven’t shared them with you guys yet,” Jon was quick to say when he was asked about his future.
On this end, as soon as KnockoutAlerts shared the video on Instagram, the fight fans took over the comments section and revealed their thoughts. Here’s what they say about Jones’ Thailand escapade.
Jon Jones receives severe lashings from the fighting community
The fight fans wasted almost no time in dragging the UFC head honcho into the picture. The reason was indeed White’s undying support for Jones as the GOAT of MMA. One of the fans questioned the UFC CEO, “This is your GOAT, Dana?” No doubt, the frustration regarding Jones’ inactivity was pretty high in the fighting community. Another fan added, “Dude would rather be surrounded by a dozen soaking wet men than defend his title once every 26 months.”
In the meantime, a few of the fans pushed the heavyweight champion towards retirement. One of the comments read, “Retire for the love of god you’re a clown.” On the other hand, a few others backed Jones for having fun following a rumored retirement. Of course, this was a playful jibe at the HW champ. The comment read, “God forbid a man have fun in “retirement” .”
As the video continued to make rounds on the social media platform, the fans began to wonder if the visuals were real. One of the fans wrote, “Praying this isn’t real .” Another fan wondered if artificial intelligence had a role to play in the making of the video. The fan commented, “Is this ai?” Meanwhile, one more fan added, “My boy be trippin lol.”
Do you think Jones should just retire at this moment and let the flow in the heavyweight realm continue? Or should he actually take up the fight against Aspinall and fight one last time? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post “This Is Your Goat, Dana?”: Jon Jones’ Pool Party in Thailand Has UFC Fans Fuming Over Tom Aspinall Fight Hiatus appeared first on EssentiallySports.
