Jon Jones has officially retired from MMA, according to Dana White.
White revealed after UFC Baku on Saturday night that Jones had called him on Friday to announce he was leaving the sport for good.
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The UFC CEO and President then declared Tom Aspinall was the new official undisputed heavyweight champion.
“Jon Jones is retired. Tom Aspinall is the UFC heavyweight champion,” he said.
Jones hasn’t fought in the UFC since defeating Stipe Miocic in November.
That was his only defence of the heavyweight strap after submitting Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023.
During this time, Brit Aspinall became the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich.
He then defended his status as the interim champion by stopping Curtis Blaydes in his last fight at UFC Manchester in July.
White, 55, later revealed that he doesn’t regret waiting for Jones to make a decision on his future.
The only thing he felt bad about was Aspinall being held on the sidelines and losing out on a huge pay day by fighting Jones.
“Aspinall’s been great,” White added.
“He’s going to be a great heavyweight champion for us, and I’m excited to work for him.”
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Aspinall has since responded to the huge news on his Instagram.
“For you fans,” he captioned a video that showed White breaking Jones’ retirement.
“It’s time to get this heavyweight division going. An active undisputed champion.”