Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

‘You Have Nothing More To Prove’ – Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares His 2 Cents on Jon Jones Retiring!

Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

For months, UFC fans had been speculating about Jon Jones’ next move and if at all he plans to fight Tom Aspinall, who has been vocal about fighting Jones for the heavyweight title since day one. At first, when Jones defeated Stipe Moicic, he revealed that he wanted huge payday, if he is to take on a younger, in-his-prime Tom Aspinall. However, Ariel Helwani stated that the UFC had already offered Jones huge money, and while he accepted it at first, he declined to fight later. The indecisiveness was not only frustrating for Aspinall, who’s was waiting for his shot at the real belt than the interim version that he owned, but it also got a lot of the fans furious with many wanting him to be striped.

Jones, rather than returning to the Octagon, decided to announce his retirement as confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White during a press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. While many fans are accusing Jones of ducking Aspinall, we believe that his interest and motivation levels to fight inside the Octagon, never came back up as evidenced by his earlier announcement, where he wrote, “I don’t want to say that I’m retired. Right Now, I couldn’t really care less about fighting.”

🚨 Jon Jones on his future:

“I don’t want to say that I’m retired. Right now, I couldn’t really care less about fighting.”

“If the itch comes back, then I’ll do it with my whole heart.”

“He [Tom Aspinall] isn’t in a position to excite me. That’s the truth.”

via @full_send_mma pic.twitter.com/JNtKpT1Mxl
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) June 19, 2025

Now that Jones has retired, the MMA community have shared mixed emotions on this announcement and is as divided as it can get. Tom Aspinall fans love the fact that Jones retired and finally gave his heavyweight title away. Whereas, Jones’ fans have shown a lot of love for the champ, who fought in the UFC for nearly two decades.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares His Thoughts on Jon Jones’ Retirement

Khabib Nurmagomedov, a UFC legend himself, honored Jones on social media, stating, “You have nothing more to prove,” while also calling him the greatest ever and inspiration for millions. Nurmagomedov himself, is deemed by many, to be one of the greatest fighters to ever fight in the UFC, holding a perfect 29-0-0 record in his MMA career.

Abdulmanap Predicted That Jones Would Become a Heavyweight Champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s late father, Abdulmanap, was also a big fan of Jon Jones and had predicted nine years ago that Jones would become a heavyweight champion. Back in 2016, he said, “Jon Jones got his talent from God. Not from Greg Jackson. Greg Jackson is a good striking coach, don’t confuse those things. Jon Jones is No.1 out of all fighters. Maybe not in terms of behavior or the law or something else. But I’m confident that he’ll wipe out the top-5 heavyweights.”

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Jones’ career boasts a 28-1 record, with his sole loss coming from a controversial disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009, widely dismissed by the fans. He became the youngest UFC champion at 23, defeating Mauricio Rua at UFC 128, and 16 total title fight wins. His 2023 heavyweight title win and 2024 TKO victory over Stipe Miocic cemented his two-division supremacy. Jones 20′ UFC wins ranks top five all-time, and he was also never knocked down in his UFC career.

Off the mat, however, Jones faced multiple suspensions for failed drug tests, and multiple other controversial situations, which may or may not hurt his legacy, but there is nobody like Jones when you meet him inside the octagon.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov

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Jon Jones Retirement

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Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.