The UFC title officially changed hands at a news conference rather than in the Octagon, marking a major transition at the top of the heavyweight division.

Following the promotion's event in Baku, Azerbaijan, UFC CEO Dana White stated on Saturday that iconic heavyweight champion Jon Jones had notified the organization of his retirement at the age of 37. Jones' decision to retire from the sport has resulted in the long-awaited promotion of interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to the title of undisputed heavyweight champion.

"Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC," White said.

The Albuquerque Journal initially reported the alarming news, which Uncrowned later confirmed, just hours after Dana White formally announced Jon Jones' retirement. Due to a criminal summons connected to a misdemeanor allegation for allegedly escaping the scene of an accident, the former UFC heavyweight champion is once again embroiled in legal troubles.

The charge is related to an incident that happened in Albuquerque on February 21. The woman was discovered in the passenger seat of a car that had crashed, and police say she was "significantly intoxicated and partially unclothed." She allegedly drank alcohol and took mushrooms at Jones' house, and the last person she recalled driving was Jon Jones.

This abrupt and dramatic retirement brings an end to one of the most bizarre and complex stories in MMA history, even if his departure from the sport has long been rumored.

Jon Jones' legacy requires that his name be mentioned in the discussion of MMA's greatest of all time. By winning gold at the age of 23 and defending it more times than any other fighter to date, he not only became champion but also rose to the position more quickly than anyone else in UFC history.

Jones finishes his career with an impressive 28–1 (1 NC) record. That one imperfection? An almost faultless run was made ironic by a contentious disqualification defeat to Matt Hamill for employing 12-to-6 elbows, which are now permitted under revised regulations.

He defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to win the light heavyweight title in 2011, beginning a run of domination that spanned eight straight title defenses. He added three more defenses after reclaiming the title in 2018 before advancing to heavyweight, where he won another title and cemented his legacy in the sport.

A division was no longer ruled by anyone. And that is what made his journey so frustrating—one of MMA's most illustrious careers became one of its most convoluted as the genius within the cage frequently collided with the mayhem outside.

Jon Jones lost his belt twice outside of the cage, but not in combat. First, following a hit-and-run incident in 2015 that injured a pregnant mother. Then again in 2017 after testing positive for the illegal narcotic turinabol. In actuality, he faced more consistent challenges from drug testing than most opponents ever could. His career's turmoil only increased after he was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of domestic abuse.

The supremacy that formerly characterized him started to wane as the years passed. Razor-thin scorecards and contentious judging plagued his final two appearances at light heavyweight, where he narrowly defeated Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. Additionally, fans' fantasies of exciting heavyweight bouts against Tom Aspinall or Francis Ngannou never materialized. Regardless of whether fans wanted it or not, the UFC insisted that a fight with the elderly, semi-retired Stipe Miocic was what the fans needed.

Now, that storied and stormy career has reached its end. And with the final chapter closed, the legacy debates can truly begin. If judged solely by his work inside the Octagon, Jones may very well stand alone at the top. But outside of it? That’s where the arguments get louder.

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