In the UFC, fighters rise and fall, champions come and go, but one thing has remained constant for over a decade—Jon Jones at the top. From his dominance at light heavyweight to his seamless transition to heavyweight, Jones has been untouchable since his debut in 2008.
Whether it’s his unbelievable reach, insane fight IQ, or ability to dismantle elite fighters with ease, Jones has defied logic time and time again. Jones, on paper, is a wrestler who has fought defeated Olympians like Daniel Cormier at their own game inside the octagon. And as if that wasn’t impressive enough, he’s fought countless strikers like Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Alexander Gustaffson and defeated them as well.
To sum it up, he is the most complete mixed martial artist we have seen over a couple of generations of UFC fighters. So, what makes him special?
According to UFC veteran Din Thomas, it isn’t just his skill—it’s the fact that he “has broken physical and universal laws in MMA”.
Speaking to Mike Bohn, Thomas explained his disbelief in Jones and his career so far.
“In all these things I talk about not liking to be champion, the pressure giving it up, all of that. Jon Jones debunks all the myths of that.”, he said.
Elaborating further on the subject, Thomas added, “I mean I don’t know how he has done it, I don’t know how he has managed to stick around at the top, failed drug tests, come back still beat the next best guy, give up the belt, come back beat the best guy. I don’t know how he does it man.”
Thomas claimed that Jones didn’t just think outside the box, he lived there.
“He is not like any other human fighter there is,” Thomas tried to explain before ultimately giving up and accepting defeat.
Unfortunately, his greatness has been called into question by fans and followers of the sport, who have only seen him compete twice in the last 3-4 years. It’s not their fault. Since vacating the light heavyweight title and deciding to move to heavyweight, Jones has hardly been active in the division.
The three years he took to prepare for the move saw one of the most dominant heavyweights in the world, Francis Ngannou, claim the title and move on from the division without ever testing Jones. Jones returned weeks after Ngannou’s departure in 2023 to claim the heavyweight title against interim champion Ciryl Gane.
Weeks after that, he had taken off another year from the sport courtesy of an injury. It was during this time that Tom Aspinall won the interim title and reigned supreme in the division. Traditionally, Jones should have returned to fight Aspinall and unite the belt, but it has been a few months of PPVs between then and now, and the heavyweight champion still continues to evade the question.
Thankfully, UFC bossman Dana White is no longer following suit.
Jones vs Aspinall on the way
White wants fans to calm down about Jones vs. Aspinall—yes, it’s happening, just not right this second.
It’s been three months since Jones beat Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and over six months since Aspinall last fought, so naturally, people are getting impatient. And since Jones keeps harping on about fighting light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, they cannot really be blamed for not having faith.
However, White had previously guaranteed the fight would happen. And now, he’s happy to keep fans satiated by reiterating it.
“We’re not getting Jon vs. Tom ever?” White read from a comment before responding, “Yes, you will. It’s coming. Relax.”
Dana White said Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is coming pic.twitter.com/hGPx5gBwb6
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 21, 2025
The reality? The UFC doesn’t announce big fights until they’re ready. Jones vs. Miocic was an open secret for months before it was finally made official. The same thing could be happening here.
As of now, no contracts have been signed, but there’s no sign the fight is in trouble either. It’s just about timing—and when the UFC is ready to roll it out, we’ll all know.
