Jon Jones Responds to Retirement Criticism

[Tweak896]

The issue isn't really that he retires in itself. It's how he behaved around that situation, ducking the interim champion and also stringing things along to mess up the HW title scene. That's why this is a disgrace.

Then again it's quite mild compared to being the record holder in pissing hot in the UFC so things were already looking terrible.

Yeah well atleast it's all over. He left the door open for another defense, but then walked away. Still the majority of the time was spent because he was about to fight Stipe, got injured, then took a year to recover. These past 6 months were ridiculous though.

Actually very interesting, because 2015 (when USADA started) champs either started losing or pissed hot.
FLW: DJ was immune
BW: TJ lost to Cruz, went 5-2 after
FW: Aldo lost to Conor, went 7-8 after
LW: Pettis dominated by RDA, went 6-7 after
WW: Hendricks, went 2-5 after. Lawler, defended 2x under USADA, then 3-5 after
MW: Weidman, defended 1x against a deflated Belfort, then went 3-7 after
LHW: Jones popped and NC with DC rematch
HW: Werdum beat Cain who looked unrecognizable, then went 4-3

Counting record after losing belt. ^^^^

So basically everyone at that time ended up losing or looking different before USADA. TJ regained the title for a bit, but popped later. Aldo technically regained his belt and had a decent performance after, but lost his aura. DJ was flawless.




I put a red line through when USADA kicked in. There was a total shake up all across the board after the testing went through. I feel like people don't talk about it enough how much it changed the sport.

 

[JBJ was here]

This is contradictory to much that is understood, I was always told the UFC was contractually obligated to offer 3 fights per year to all contracted fighters.

There has to be some kind of guarantee like that in the fighter contract, otherwise the contract would amount by a promise by the fighter not to fight for anyone else in exchange for absolutely nothing, which, to say the least, would not actually be an enforceable contract.

 

[orca]

Retirement's not the issue. He should have retired before he took an exhibition fight instead of fighting the rightful contender and then holding the belt hostage, daring Dana to strip him and showing everyone a complete lack of respect. You see the difference right?

hmm the issue here is toms not the number 1 contender at that time jones and stipe fight was booked

pretty sure your wrong there
and jones held the title for 6 months after that

i dont see you getting angry at nganou holding the belt hostage for 365 days after giving it up

you want facts?

 

[Captain Herb]

This is contradictory to much that is understood, I was always told the UFC was contractually obligated to offer 3 fights per year to all contracted fighters.

Probably depends on the contract and the years not over. They could give him a choice of three fights at the same time for all I know. Maybe they did offer him a placeholder fight, we don't know because it's a very opaque situation

 

[Captain Herb]

I'm pretty sure the UFC would have to pay him to honor their contractual obligations.

Yeah, don't know, maybe but it doesn't seem Dana's style to pay fighters not to fight when he is loathe to pay them when they do fight

 

[mkess101]

Yeah, don't know, maybe but it doesn't seem Dana's style to pay fighters not to fight when he is loathe to pay them when they do fight

Normally sure. But in a situation where there's a big fight that Dana wanted the chance to make happen, it probably just made more sense to pay Tom to sit. Definitely not because they give a shit about Tom, but just as a business decision.

 

[Bob Gray]

Honestly as a Die hard GSP fan, I have to ask why I don't hear GSP ducked whittaker every day for 9 months but I hear Jones ducked aspinall all the time when in reality they both decided to hang it up. Kudos to them both. Leave on top before the game chews you up and spits you out.

Because people dont like Jones. Theres really nothing else to it. I understand not liking the guy. But people let their personal feelings get in the way of their judgement constantly. The argument that Jones legacy is "ruined" because he, as a 205'er, didn't fight another heavyweight is all kinds of stupid.

Even if he had beaten Aspinall, as usual within a year or two Aspinall wouldn't have been that good, especially if he gets another loss or two. He isn't some up and comer. He's in his 30's and seems to have gotten to his peak and he's at his best. But he hasn't been some world beater. He's the best in a paper thin division.

People wanted Jones to lose and they're just whining they didn't get to see it happen. Jones legacy was sealed before he even fought at HW, same as GSP prior to fighting Bisping. The heavier fights are just icing on the cake, and people are hysterical he didnt fight again at 37 to get more icing. Its silly. He's the GOAT 205er and arguably GOAT all time. No amount of sperging and whining is gonna change it, and his haters will never even get an opportunity to see him truly lose. They're just emotional about it.

 

[Captain Herb]

That's simply not plausible. Of course he was paid; otherwise he'd have taken a lot of money to fight somewhere else. There's no way that the UFC would risk Tom voiding his contract for a breach by the UFC. He probably wasn't paid as much as he'd have been paid to fight, certainly not as much as if he'd fought Jones, but he was paid enough not to jump ship or complain about not being offered fights.

Tom made $500K plus incentives for his most recent fight, the largest pay day of his career. He wouldn't have gotten Ngannou money to fight elsewhere, but someone would have offered him a couple of million if he were available and he'd have taken it.

Fact is, we don't know, everyone's just taking a guess

 

[Captain Herb]

hmm the issue here is toms not the number 1 contender at that time jones and stipe fight was booked

pretty sure your wrong there
and jones held the title for 6 months after that

i dont see you getting angry at nganou holding the belt hostage for 365 days after giving it up

you want facts?

The Stipe fight was booked, cancelled. And then booked again after Tom was the interim champ and the clear #1 contender. Anyone who can't or won't defend their title within 365 days should be stripped, not sure if that was Ngannou's case or not.

 

[Captain Herb]

Normally sure. But in a situation where there's a big fight that Dana wanted the chance to make happen, it probably just made more sense to pay Tom to sit. Definitely not because they give a shit about Tom, but just as a business decision.

I get it, that would be a smart business decision but given how cheap Dana and the UFC are and the fact that Tom's camp was bitching the whole time about the fight not being made and sitting on the shelf, it just sounds to me like they weren't getting compensated for it.

 

[mkess101]

I get it, that would be a smart business decision but given how cheap Dana and the UFC are and the fact that Tom's camp was bitching the whole time about the fight not being made and sitting on the shelf, it just sounds to me like they weren't getting compensated for it.

I just don't think that's legally possible. Seems like clear breach of contract. I'm not a lawyer but...

 

[Belaya Smert]

I would be more proud of him if he could control his own automobile while high on *mushrooms.


* allegedly

 

[GraafschapDTCNL]

So youre calling out everyone in the world except Tom, and then when Tom is the only fight left you dont want to fight him. Funny how that works

 

[invictorious]

Jones did not do much at HW, but at LHW he is far and away the GOAT. He ducked nobody in that division. GSP was gifted a MW title shot, then immediately retired instead of fighting a legit contender.

In late 2017, Georges St-Pierre relinquished the UFC middleweight title due to health reasons. This was about five weeks after he won it. He officially retired in early 2019.

 

[Superzorro]

Literally the only thing people cared about was him holding up the division for years. People only wanted him to defend against the interim champ or vacate. Simple.

And he did… just that. He vacated and retired.

A 40 year old ‘grown man’ that feels the need to remind the world that he IS a ‘grown-up’…

Wonder why…

It’s truly mind boggling how smart jon thinks he is in light of how dumb(and lucky) he actually is

Yeah you’re right. You’re smarter than Jones. The only reason why you aren’t as successful in life is luck.

 

[Superzorro]

Yeah well atleast it's all over. He left the door open for another defense, but then walked away. Still the majority of the time was spent because he was about to fight Stipe, got injured, then took a year to recover. These past 6 months were ridiculous though.

Actually very interesting, because 2015 (when USADA started) champs either started losing or pissed hot.
FLW: DJ was immune
BW: TJ lost to Cruz, went 5-2 after
FW: Aldo lost to Conor, went 7-8 after
LW: Pettis dominated by RDA, went 6-7 after
WW: Hendricks, went 2-5 after. Lawler, defended 2x under USADA, then 3-5 after
MW: Weidman, defended 1x against a deflated Belfort, then went 3-7 after
LHW: Jones popped and NC with DC rematch
HW: Werdum beat Cain who looked unrecognizable, then went 4-3

Counting record after losing belt. ^^^^

So basically everyone at that time ended up losing or looking different before USADA. TJ regained the title for a bit, but popped later. Aldo technically regained his belt and had a decent performance after, but lost his aura. DJ was flawless.


View attachment 1101204

I put a red line through when USADA kicked in. There was a total shake up all across the board after the testing went through. I feel like people don't talk about it enough how much it changed the sport.

Yeah we pretty much stopped seeing long reigning, dominant champions after the whole IV rehydration, USADA thing.

 

[ParagonEliteFightGearTeam]

​

Jon Jones recently hit back at those slamming him for retiring.

Considered the MMA GOAT, Jones’ retirement was unceremonious to say the least. The youngest ever to become a UFC champ, Jones had a legendary run as the light heavyweight title holder until 2020. While his legacy has been marred by personal issues and drug test failures, no one can take away from his dominance inside the Octagon.

Jones returned after a three-year hiatus in 2023 and made easy work of Ciryl Gane to win the heavyweight title. He was then scheduled to defend the title against Stipe Miocic but was forced out due to an injury. Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall became the interim champ by beating Sergei Pavlovich, and he then defended the interim title against Curtis Blaydes. However, Jones remained adamant about fighting Miocic, whom he defeated at UFC 309 in November 2024. Since that victory, Bones appeared uninterested in a fight against Aspinall, a saga which kept the heavyweight division on hold.

This led to widespread criticism and an online petition to strip Jones of the title that garnered nearly 200,000 signatures. The ordeal ended at a post-fight presser at UFC Baku last weekend, when Dana White announced Jones’ retirement. However, the criticism hasn’t stopped, as fans continue to slam Jones for depriving them of the fight they wanted and wasting a year of Aspinall’s career.

'Bones' Proud to Control His Own Destiny​

Jones responded, saying the critics are unhappy with him for retiring while he was still “dominating.” Jones posted a picture of himself with other UFC champs from the last decade, all of whom are now retired, most of long before “Bones.”

"I guess everybody else gets to retire - just not when you’re still dominating. Funny how that works,” Jones wrote on his Instagram Stories. “Forget personal goals, forget business ventures. Some folks really believe you should fight until they say you’ve had enough. Wild. Imagine thinking a grown man shouldn’t control his own destiny.”

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Jon Jones Responds to Retirement Criticism

Jon Jones recently hit back at those slamming him for retiring.

www.sherdog.com

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Thank you for your service.Great athlete