Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones could make a return to the Octagon now that Tom Aspinall has vacated his title.
That’s according to his teammate, UFC heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, who said ahead of UFC 331 that he thinks Jones could make a return to the Octagon in the wake of Aspinall giving up his belt.
Jon Jones Could Make UFC Comeback
Speaking to RMC Sport Combat ahead of UFC 331, Steveson admitted that Aspinall vacating his title could light a fire under Jones to make a UFC comeback.
“I think Jon would like to come back also. Maybe seeing this belt open up put another fire into him. I’ve seen what (Jon) can still do, and I know he can do it at the highest level. Maybe his time will come again, and I think it will,” Steveson said.
“I think Jon would like to come back also. Maybe seeing this belt open up put another fire into him. I’ve seen what [Jon] can still do, and I know he can do it at the
It would certainly be ironic if Jones did return after Aspinall vacated his belt, as the only reason Aspinall’s old interim title was promoted to the undisputed belt was that Jones himself vacated his UFC heavyweight title when he retired from MMA last June.
But after taking over another year off fighting, it appears that Jones could be having second thoughts about a potential UFC comeback, at least according to Steveson.
Jon Jones Could Rematch Ciryl Gane
If Jones did come back, then he could potentially rematch interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, who Jones defeated to win the UFC heavyweight title back in 2023.
It would be one of the biggest fights that the UFC could make if they were to pair up Jones and Gane in a rematch, so it’s certainly possible that the promotion could try to get this fight booked if Jones indeed was planning on coming back.
Although Jones and UFC president Dana White don’t always see eye-to-eye, White is all about selling tickets and getting eyeballs on his product, and there is no doubt that Jones is one of the biggest names in the sport. So if he did want to come back, the UFC would likely have no problem giving him an immediate title shot.
Jon Jones Could Return Now With Tom Aspinall Vacating Belt