‘Back off of Jon Jones’ seems to be the company guidelines for media dealing with the UFC heavyweight champion. Following Dana White’s continued support of Jones despite a blatant refusal to unify the title, Joe Rogan also seems to have joined the ‘let Jones be’ bandwagon even if he sits idle for half a year.
Rogan claimed that Jones was the greatest of all time and implied that thus he was exempt from the rules mere mortals are bound by.
“Give the man all the time he wants. He could fight whenever he wants to fight. That’s Jon Jones—he’s the GOAT. So leave him alone. If he decides one day to come back and wants to fight Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title, let him do it,” Rogan said on his podcast.
The UFC commentator’s comments tow the company line that Jones no longer has anything left to prove in the business.
Except, that is not entirely true. Jones cannot claim to be a true two-division champion unless he defends his title against the interim champion. After winning the title from Ciryl Gane in 2023, Jones took an extended break to heal from a shoulder injury.
During this time, Aspinall stepped in and kept the division moving by winning the interim title, which guaranteed him a shot at the undisputed title upon the champion’s return. However, that ceased to be the case, when the promotion skirted its own rules to cater to Jones’ insistence on fighting a 42-year-old Stipe Miocic at UFC 310.
Miocic looked visibly out of sorts, a shell of his prime self during the fight, which allowed Jones to finish him and dazzle the masses.
Jon Jones eliminates Stipe Miocic with a deadly spinning back-kick and celebrates by doing the Trump Dance… pic.twitter.com/H0uUEq9pf8
— Fight Mate (@FightMate) November 17, 2024
However, if he doesn’t face Aspinall, Jones only walks into the sunset as arguably the greatest light heavyweight fighter of all time, an incredible achievement, albeit one that falls remarkably short of the GOAT status.
If this fight doesn’t come to pass, Aspinall will be a big ‘what if?’ shaped blot on Jones’ otherwise brilliant career. But he won’t be the only one.
Mat Hamill pitches for a rematch on social media
During the course of his 16-year-long career, Jones has only lost once inside the octagon. This infamous bout saw him disqualified for illegal 12-to-6 elbows, giving Hamill the victory. Now, since the 12-6 elbows have been legalized, there has been a clamoring from a section of MMA enthusiasts to overturn the decision, the UFC president being chief among them.
Dana White is asked if he would like to see the Jon Jones loss overturned now that 12-6 elbow rule has been updated. pic.twitter.com/2DbNcXQmTf
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 28, 2024
Others, meanwhile believe that what’s done is done. What Jones did back then was illegal and lost the fight because of it. There’s no reason to change it.
But Matt Hamill has offered a simpler solution to the debate.
Matt Hamill, the only person to defeat Jon Jones, is willing to give Jones a rematch.
“If the 1-loss record really bothers Jon Jones, let’s have a rematch. It’s not going to be like Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. I expect there to be blood and broken bones.” pic.twitter.com/l0C2jwQDyj
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 8, 2025
Hamill, known for his toughness and wrestling pedigree, appears confident he can still step into the octagon with Jones and deliver a war. Now, this is an unlikely scenario given Jones’ current status as heavyweight champion, but the prospect of revisiting their history has sparked intrigue among MMA enthusiasts.
It must however be noted that during their first fight, Jones was a force of nature, dominating every aspect of the game before the referee stopped the fight in Hamill’s favor. So, revisiting the contest 15 years later might not be in anyone’s best interest.
