Jon Jones ‘feeling sharp’ as he teases fighting return with new training footage following UFC fallout

Jon Jones is enjoying training and seems confident he’ll make a fighting return.

In early March, the 38-year-old hinted at being released from the UFC before deleting an angry rant online after he was excluded from the promotion’s upcoming White House card.

Getty/UFC

‘Bones’ reversed his retirement following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the card and had persistently expressed his desire to fight at the celebratory event, officially billed as UFC Freedom 250.

Just a week before UFC CEO Dana White revealed the six-fight line-up for the White House show, Jones claimed he was ‘in negotiations’ to feature, with a potential heavyweight blockbuster against Alex Pereira on the horizon.

However, after announcing Pereira would instead face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title, White denounced his former champion’s comments, asserting Jones was retired and never considered to fight at the White House.

White’s words set a fire in Jones, who hit back at his boss, writing on X: “If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today.”

He specifically highlighted White’s comments on his issues with arthritis, saying ‘that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,’ while claiming the UFC ‘lowballed’ him in negotiations.

Jones later claimed he rejected a $15million offer to fight Pereira from the UFC, who he says ‘wouldn’t budge one dollar more.’

This set off a bitter feud that White is still being asked about today, as he responded ‘who gives a s***?’ to a question about Jones after Israel Adesanya suffered his fourth consecutive loss at UFC Seattle.

Well, Jones has now refocused and is seemingly preparing for a comeback, regardless of whether it’s in the UFC or not.

Jones ‘feeling sharp’ in training

“Right now, I’m exactly where I need to be,” Jones captioned a new training video of him hitting pads in a gym this week.

“I’m excited to see myself in a few months when things actually start to ramp up.

“Feeling sharp across the board.”

Last week, the American announced his partnership with IBA Bare Knuckle as a global ambassador.

“Unlike other organisations, IBA Bare Knuckle provides a real platform for champions to shape the future of the sport,” he said.

“I want to thank [IBA president] Umar Kremlev for this opportunity—together, we are building a new global era for bare-knuckle fighting.”

‘Bones’ then co-hosted his first event for the promotion on March 28 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

“I would love to fight bare knuckle,” he admitted after watching 48-year-old former UFC star Yoel Romero lose a razor-thin unanimous decision to Vagab Vagabov in the main event.

AFP - Getty

AFP

Where could Jones fight outside of UFC?

Due to his war of words with White, Jones’ future in the UFC is in serious doubt.

However, there are other avenues the 38-year-old could explore.

Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotion (MVP) has put together a stacked card for Netflix’s first-ever MMA show on May 16, headlined by Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano.

Both Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz are making big comebacks on the California show, with the latter actually rejecting a higher offer from the UFC to sign for MVP.

Paul’s partner at MVP Nakisa Bidarian has hinted at potentially teaming up with Jones in the past.

“UFC should release Jon Jones,” Bidarian wrote on X last month.

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“He’s done. Bad hip. Let him go make a few dollars somewhere else with his bad hip.

“Only fair for a guy who has given his whole career to one organization but now clear he is not fit enough to compete for them.”

Jones signing for MVP would open the door to a mega-fight against Ngannou, which is one of the biggest MMA fights of all time to have never been made.