Jon Jones retirement: 5 big fights 'Bones' missed out on

Jon Jones' time as one of the UFC's biggest stars is officially over. It was announced by Dana White last weekend that Jones has retired, vacating his heavyweight title in the process.

Across nearly two decades of action with the UFC, Jones fought a long list of big names. However, he also missed out on some big fights, often in controversial circumstances.

With accusations of ducking and self-sabotage plaguing his career, 'Bones' will go down as a legend of the game, but also a very polarising one.

Here, then, are five big fights that Jon Jones missed out on.

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#5. Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou

In early 2020, Jon Jones defended his light-heavyweight title in a controversial fight with Dominick Reyes that many fans felt he lost.

Most observers felt Reyes warranted a rematch, but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck a few weeks later, that was put on the back burner.

Instead, later that year, Jones vacated his title, and expressed an interest in moving up to the heavyweight division. The opponent he supposedly wanted? Heavy-handed contender Francis Ngannou.

'The Predator' was, at the time, the most dangerous man in the division. After failing in his first attempt at claiming the UFC heavyweight title, Ngannou had reeled off four straight knockouts, moving back to the front of the queue for a crack at Stipe Miocic.

Unfortunately, when the UFC attempted to put a fight between Jones and Ngannou together, 'Bones' balked.

Reports quickly emerged of him demanding what Dana White called "Deontay Wilder money" for the bout. While Jones refuted this, he did hit back at the UFC for refusing to pay him what he was worth.

The fight was put on the backburner, particularly after Ngannou dethroned Miocic in early 2021 and then began to clash with the promotion in his own right.

By mid-2022, the idea of Ngannou vs. Jones once again resurfaced, but instead, 'The Predator' vacated his title and departed for the PFL.

Curiously, with Ngannou now gone, Jones suddenly agreed to return, evidently now happy with the money on the table. He defeated Ciryl Gane for the vacant title in early 2023, and held it until his retirement last weekend.

Given the circumstances - and the speed he returned when Ngannou departed - it's easy to see why some fans felt Jones ducked 'The Predator'.

Either way, this would've been a massive fight, and it remains a point of frustration that we never got to see it.

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#4. Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson

Back in 2012, Jon Jones had, for all intents and purposes, cleaned out the light-heavyweight division. He'd claimed the UFC title by beating Shogun Rua, and then defended his crown against Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.

With the likes of Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture fading into the past and Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira only starting their UFC careers, the list of possible opponents for 'Bones' was getting smaller.

One outstanding contender he hadn't faced, though, was former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson.

'Hendo' had floated between 205 pounds and 185 pounds for the majority of his UFC career, but late 2011 saw him beat Rua in a thriller, and that was enough to net him a shot at Jones in 2012.

Just weeks before the planned fight, though, disaster struck when Henderson blew out his knee, forcing him to withdraw.

Worse was to come for the former PRIDE champ, as Jones then caused controversy by refusing to fight Chael Sonnen on late notice instead. With a rivalry between 'Bones' and 'The American Gangster' suddenly burgeoning, Henderson was largely forgotten.

'Hendo' returned in early 2013, but lost his next two fights to Machida and Evans, knocking him out of contention.

He never did get to face off with Jones, although the two men did face off in a 2016 grappling match - with 'Bones' winning via submission.

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#3. Jon Jones vs. Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson

In mid-2015, many fans believed that the UFC had found Jon Jones' kryptonite in the form of Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson.

A former welterweight who moved up to 205 pounds after being cut by the UFC in 2012, Johnson returned in 2014 and looked like a different animal entirely.

'Rumble' beat up Phil Davis, then knocked out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alexander Gustafsson, both with ease, to set up a shot at Jones at UFC 187.

With a month to go, though, plans changed. Jones was involved in a disastrous hit-and-run incident and found himself arrested and charged with a felony.

The result was that the UFC were forced to strip him of his title and suspend him indefinitely. Johnson instead faced Daniel Cormier for the now-vacant title - and despite scoring a knockdown, ended up losing via third round submission.

'Rumble' did bounce back from the loss quickly. He knocked out Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira to earn another title shot - but with Jones suspended again, that shot once again saw him face Cormier.

Again, 'DC' submitted Johnson, and the former welterweight retired afterwards, leaving his fight with Jones as one of the UFC's best 'what if?' questions.

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#2. Jon Jones vs. Brock Lesnar

Jon Jones vs. Brock Lesnar is one of those fantasy fights that, due to the star power of both men, would've been monstrously huge had the UFC ever been able to put it together.

Unfortunately, the fight never happened, and with both 'Bones' and Lesnar now retired from MMA, it's unlikely to ever happen in the future, either.

But could Dana White and company have ever put this one together? The best answer is probably perhaps.

Jones was a young prospect when Lesnar's UFC career peaked in the late 2000s, and he hadn't really climbed into light-heavyweight title contention when Lesnar lost his heavyweight title in 2010.

For the majority of Jones' reign as 205-pound king, then, 'The Beast Incarnate' was back in WWE, outside of a one-off bout with Mark Hunt in 2016.

When Jones beat Daniel Cormier to reclaim his light-heavyweight title in 2017, though, only one name was on his mind.

He called out Lesnar, threatening the former champion by telling him he'd make him know what it felt like to be beaten by an opponent 40 pounds lighter than him.

Most fans were confused, but it didn't take long for rumors that Lesnar might accept the call-out to surface.

Of course, it never happened, as Jones was suspended shortly after the fight following a positive drug test. Lesnar did tease a return to the UFC in 2018 by squaring up to Cormier, but nothing came of it, and he never did come back to the octagon.

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#1. Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall

There's no doubt that the biggest fight that Jon Jones missed out on during his UFC career was a heavyweight title unification fight with Tom Aspinall.

Fans were hoping to see the clash later in 2025, but with 'Bones' now officially retired and Aspinall declared the undisputed heavyweight champion, it'll likely remain as nothing but a fantasy fight.

Given Aspinall first captured his interim title back in November 2023 with a win over Sergei Pavlovich, the fact that Jones was never willing to fight him will always be shrouded in controversy.

While 'Bones' did suggest he was up for the fight on multiple occasions, when it came down to it, he never seemed truly sold.

Instead, he fought Stipe Miocic in late 2024 - claiming the bout would do more for his legacy than a fight with Aspinall - and even called out then-light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira rather than the Brit.

So was Jones really ducking Aspinall, as many fans accused him of doing? In all honesty, we'll never truly know.

The fact is that a win over Jones would've made Aspinall's career, while it is fair to say that a win for Jones wouldn't have added too much to his legacy.

However, Jon Jones - like Georges St-Pierre or Lennox Lewis, for instance - would've been better to recognise that earlier and simply vacate and retire following the Miocic bout, rather than stringing things out.

The fact that he didn't do that means that fans will likely always accuse him of ducking Aspinall - and will remain frustrated that the fight never happened.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi