Jon Jones admits retirement decision will depend on his performance at UFC 309: “My goal is to make it look really easy”

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones remains undecided on retirement.

‘Bones’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since moving up in weight last March. Despite talk of facing Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones instead faced Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title after ‘The Predator’ left for the PFL. In his heavyweight debut, the 37-year-old wound up defeating ‘Bon Gamin’ by first-round submission.

Following the victory, Jon Jones was booked to face Stipe Miocic in November. However, due to injury, he was forced out of the contest. A year later, the situation is the same. Jones is set to return to the cage later this month in the main event of UFC 309 against Miocic in New York. Ahead of the contest, ‘Bones’ has teased the bout will be his last.

Furthermore, Jon Jones has continued to shoot down a title unification with interim champion Tom Aspinall. With that in mind, it seems that the 37-year-old is deadset on retirement. However, that’s not entirely the case. Speaking in a recent interview with KetoneIQ, Jones discussed his return to the octagon.

RELATED: MICHAEL CHANDLER PLANS FOR BUSY 2025 WITH POTENTIAL VICTORY OVER CHARLES OLIVEIRA: “OLDEST LIGHTWEIGHT UFC CHAMPION EVER”

Jon Jones says that his decision on whether or not to retire at #UFC309 depends on his performance:

“One of my main goals is to make it look really easy. If I can accomplish that, I think curiosity will keep me in the game.” 👀

🎥@Ketoneiq #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/oUrX6QkXsV

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 8, 2024

Jon Jones discusses retirement ahead of UFC 309 showdown with Stipe Miocic

There, Jon Jones admitted that he’s not set on retiring at all. ‘Bones’ added that his retirement decision will largely depend on how he performs against Stipe Miocic later this month. If Jones can dominate the 42-year-old former champion, he will likely stick around. If not, that could be it for ‘Bones’.

“I feel like, whether I retire or not will depend on this next performance.” Jon Jones stated in the interview ahead of his UFC return. “One of my main goals is to make it look really easy. If I can accomplish that, then curiosity will keep me in the game. Just to see how far we can really take this thing.”

He continued, “But, at the same time, I’m really happy with the career. It’s been unbelievable, truly unbelievable. I work on looking in the mirror and saying to myself that I am enough, that I’ve accomplished enough, and I don’t have anything to prove. Sometimes you can get caught up with work, and are always needing more and more.”

 What do you make of these comments from the UFC heavyweight champion? Do you think Jon Jones will defeat Stipe Miocic later this month?