Ahead of defending his heavyweight championship against Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, Jon Jones seemed as though retirement was very much on the table. After making easy work of Miocic, Jones has changed his tune, though he wants a considerable amount of money to fight again in 2025.
"Right now, the UFC and I, we're in negotiations," Jones said during an interview with The Schmo. "We're in talks to see what happens next. I'm back in the gym, I'm training, I feel really great. The team's support, they're right behind me, and we'll just be ready for whatever opportunity comes our way. ... Yes. Yes, I will be competing in 2025, more than likely."
Jones did say he has a dollar amount in his head for a return, though he refused to disclose what it would cost the UFC to get him back in the Octagon.
What Jones did not clarify was who his opponent would be in a hypothetical 2025 bout. The fight everyone from fans to UFC CEO Dana White wants to see is Jones against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Jones, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he's far more interested in a fight with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
After UFC 309, White said there was "no f---ing way" he would match Jones with Pereira, claiming Jones was too big for the former middleweight and current light heavyweight champion now that he'd fully settled in at heavyweight.
At the post-fight press conference, Jones again expressed his desire for the Pereira fight.
"I'm not really worried about the Tom fight," Jones said. "I'm worried about the Pereira fight. That's what I want to do. I think if the UFC wants to have me back, then I think that's the fight they'll make. I've been really clear about my intentions. That's what I want. I just feel like anybody would understand at this point. I'll retire the heavyweight belt if I have to."
Jones did leave the door open just a crack for an Aspinall fight, saying, "I just don't like him and at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated -- I want to say it, I want that f--- you money. That's just what it is, or else my life is perfect without him. I don't need him at all and he needs me and that's a good place to be in a negotiation."
