6/22/25: Jon Jones Announces Retirement
Also: Khalil Rountree Jr. puts on striking masterclass in Baku
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily! We have a lot to cover today… Along with the action from UFC’s card this weekend, we have some massive news to break regarding a retirement.
Jon Jones Announces Retirement, Relinquishes UFC Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones announced his retirement from MMA on Saturday night, concluding a career that was full of in-cage greatness but carried the luggage of countless controversies, ranging from stubborn fight negotiations to failed drug tests to numerous concerning run-ins with the law.
UFC CEO Dana White announced on Saturday that Jones had informed the promotion that he intends to retire, relinquishing his heavyweight belt in the process.
Just hours later, Jones himself released a statement confirming that he is done fighting.
“This decision comes after a lot of reflection, and I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the journey I’ve experienced over the years,” Jones said in a post to X on Saturday night.
Jones Ends MMA Career With Lacklustre Heavyweight Campaign
Jones’ retirement comes after the sport’s fanbase spent months urging him to take a super-fight against interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, unifying the division’s world titles more than a year-and-a-half after a secondary belt was brought into the weight class.
Aspinall had spent over a year waiting for the chance to finally become an undisputed heavyweight champion by facing Jones, who has held the division’s main title since 2023, when he beat Ciryl Gane.
After initially earning interim status back in November 2023 with a win over Sergei Pavlovich, Aspinall knew that he would likely be waiting at least a year to finally meet Jones in the cage.
Jones spent the majority of 2024 healing a torn pec, which pulled him from a late-2023 fight against Stipe Miocic. Since UFC remained adamant on re-booking the fight once Jones was healthy—despite Miocic’s years as a champ being long in the past—it wasn’t until November 2024 that he finally returned to the cage. Jones put together a one-sided victory to retain his belt.
With the Miocic fight out of the way by 2025, all focus went toward Aspinall finally getting the fight he was owed against Jones. However, for months, there was little to no reassurance that the fight would actually come to fruition. Online chatter between the two carried on for months, only further enraging fans who had long wanted to see what many believed was a significant challenge to Jones’ long-standing success as a pro and overall legacy as a fighter.
Over 190,000 fans signed a petition asking Jones to be stripped of the heavyweight title due to his inactivity. Just earlier this week, it remained unclear what the status of the fight was.
While Jones’ retirement on Saturday promoted Aspinall to undisputed champ status, it ended the American’s reign at light heavyweight on a sour note. One of the more intriguing challenges in recent memory for Jones will remain a “What if,” and Aspinall’s crowning moment, which he hoped would come in the middle of a cage in front of thousands of fans, was instead delivered during a post-fight press conference.
The heavyweight saga for Jones will be remembered as a big build-up to nothing, leaving Aspinall somewhat aimless for over a year and torturing fans into waiting for something that would never actually arrive.
A Run of Dominance That Few Could Match
When speaking purely about accomplishments in the cage, it’s hard to deny that Jones is one of the greatest to ever compete in MMA.
Jones arrived on the scene back in 2008, when he was a baby-faced 21-year-old with a pro record of five wins from around the U.S. After obtaining victories over prominent names like Ryan Bader, Brandon Vera and Stephan Bonnar, it wasn’t long before Jones found himself in title contention.
2011 will be remembered as arguably one of the best years for Jones due to the activity and dominance he displayed in the cage. Just a month after beating the aforementioned Bader, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he stopped Mauricio “Shogan” Rua in just three rounds with strikes.
Jones would return later in the year to stop revered veterans Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida, extending his reign. His performances made him a unanimous “Fighter of the Year” in the eyes of pundits: ESPN, Sherdog, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Bleacher Report, and many others were all in agreement.
With the light heavyweight division previously witnessing dominant reigns from Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, and Chuck Liddell, defending the belt twice didn’t put Jones among the greats. But the run he would go on for the next half-decade, running his reign up to eight consecutive fights, would already make him the most decorated fighter in light heavyweight and earn him the fourth-best title run in UFC history.
Jones would go on to further his legacy by continuing to win at a high level in the sport: Winning more title fights than any other fighter in UFC history (16), becoming the eighth-ever fighter to hold a title in two separate divisions, and having the second-longest combined length of title reigns.
But, to describe Jones the fighter would be telling half the story about his career.
A Four-Part Rivalry With Staying Clean
While each MMA great has big question marks and asterisks around their legacy, none arguably leave more outside-of-the-cage blemishes than Jones. There are nearly a dozen notable events that cannot go unmentioned from Jones’ past, as they influence the way he is viewed both as a fighter and a person.
A part of Jones’ legacy that cannot be ignored is his history of failing drug tests. Disputes with drug testing agencies would affect four different fight nights in Jones’ career, including the biggest commercial success he ever took part in.
A year after UFC 182, when Jones tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine, his highly-anticipated rematch against Daniel Cormier had to be pulled from the promotion’s bi-centennial numbered event in 2016 after a drug test found two banned substances in his system.
Jones would go on to eventually rematch Cormier at UFC 214 in 2017—after he served a one-year suspension—beating the fellow light heavyweight star via third-round finish. The event reportedly recorded 860,000 pay-per-view buys, the most successful broadcast figure that has ever been known for a Jones fight. However, in the weeks following the card, a drug test found an anabolic steroid in his system, causing the result to be overturned to a no contest and giving Jones a 15-month suspension.
Drug controversies followed Jones to a third consecutive booking, as issues with a test done by the Nevada Athletic Commission put his 2018 fight against Alexander Gustafsson in limbo. UFC moved the event to California on a week’s notice to preserve the booking.
A Concerning Personal Life That Remains Rocky
The darkest moments for Jones came outside of the fight game.
Jones’ record-breaking reign up until 2015 came to an end not due to a loss or drug test, but due to the Albuquerque, New Mexico police department charging him with a hit and run, which left a pregnant woman injured.
Jones was given 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and saw his historic time on top of the 205-pound class come to an end due to the case.
In 2021, during a weekend in Las Vegas for the UFC Hall of Fame, Jones was arrested and charged with domestic battery. When interviewed by police, Jones’ fiancee, who was seen with blood on her face and clothing, alleged that he had become physical with her after returning to their hotel room.
Police alleged that Jones repeatedly headbutted their vehicle while being arrested, causing a dent in the car’s hood. Charges were later dropped.
There were many other legal battles throughout the years that put Jones in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: Allegedly threatening to kill a drug-testing agent last year, pleading guilty to a DWI in 2020 and a DUI in 2012, and pleading no contest to battery of a strip club waitress in 2019.
Trouble with the law has been a theme throughout the past decade for Jones, including quite recently. The Albuquerque Journal reported on Saturday that Jones has once again been charged with leaving the scene of an accident, with authorities alleging that he “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties” after a collision earlier this year.
‘Bones’ Leaves A Complicated Legacy
In his best moments, Jones was one of the best big men in UFC history, putting together a run of dominance that only a handful can measure up to. In his worst moments, Jones was a reckless person who—if not given second, third, fourth chances by the law, the UFC, athletic commissions, and the MMA fanbase as a whole—wouldn’t have sustained his mainstream stardom into the mid-2020s.
“Return” is a word that could describe numerous different eras of Jones’ career, making the idea of a set-in-stone retirement hard to believe. But there has to eventually be a definitive end to everybody’s career, and there’s a chance that moment finally arrived for Jones this weekend.
Khalil Rountree Jr. Drops Jamahal Hill Numerous Times En Route To Decision Win
Khalil Rountree Jr. bounced back from his unsuccessful light heavyweight title bid with a dominant five-round stand-up performance on Saturday night.
The seventh-ranked 205-pound fighter was in full control of his fight against former champ Jamahal Hill for 25 minutes of action this weekend, earning him a near-shutout unanimous decision win on scorecards (49-46, 50-45 & 50-45).
Rountree Jr.’s win came in front of a rather muted live crowd at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, closing out the UFC’s first-ever trip to the country.
A varied attack on the feet from Rountree Jr. left Hill, a slight favorite in the bout, fighting from behind early.
Rountree Jr. was quick to target the lead right leg of southpaw Hill in the opening round, blasting the limb with thudding kicks. It didn’t take long for Hill to show damage due to these shots, getting wobbled a few times in the second round after consuming kicks.
As an uncomfortable Hill had to frequently switch stances to avoid Rountree Jr.’s hard kicks, he was also met with solid boxing.
A counter left hook from Rountree Jr. dropped Hill early in the third round, then a right hand put him back on the canvas just a few minutes later. Rountree Jr. later also put together a two-punch combo for a knockdown in the fourth round.
Hill responded with his own punches and connected enough to stay in the fight. But, while Rountree Jr. had a series of big moments in the fight, it’s hard to argue that Hill had any strikes that carried the same level of significance.
Despite his success in all five rounds, Rountree Jr. wasn’t pushing hard for a finish. The fight went back down to a pedestrian pace in the final moments, as Rountree Jr. seemed fine to cruise to a scorecard win that had been essentially guaranteed by that point.
Roundtree Jr. mentioned afterward that his patience was intentional.
“The plan was to be smart,” Rountree Jr. said in his post-fight interview. “I made some mistakes in the Alex [Pereira] fight. This one, it’s like, hey man, I get to make different decisions. I got to do what I gotta do, and then if I’m winning the round, I can secure that and be a smart, professional, championship-level fighter.”
35-year-old Rountree Jr. was appearing for the first time since that aforementioned title fight loss to Pereira last October, where the Brazilian stopped him in the fourth round of a tough stand-up battle.
Before then, Rountree Jr. had put together five wins in the UFC, including four via stoppage.
He’s expected to climb a few spots in the official light heavyweight standings after getting past fourth-ranked Hill.
Hill has gone winless since an out-of-competition injury forced him to vacate the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in 2023, ending his reign before he could defend the belt once. He recently also lost a title shot to Pereira in 2024, then was stopped in a fight against fellow ex-champ Jiri Prochazka in January.
Rountree Jr. is ready for anything after his latest win. With his eyes still set on eventually obtaining UFC gold, he’ll take any fight that will help get him to that point.
“For me, if I had to fight [champion] Magomed Ankalaev next, I would do it. If I have to fight somebody in between that, I would do it. But whatever gets me closer to getting that belt.”
Saturday’s card in Azerbaijan had a total of 10 decisions out of 12 fights. Among the more interesting bouts that went the distance was Rafael Fiziev’s gritty three-round performance against Ignacio Bahamondes in the co-main event, earning the Azerbaijani fighter his first victory in nearly three years.
Here are a few other headlines from Saturday’s show:
Curtis Blaydes (19-5) won a somewhat disputed split decision against UFC newcomer Rizvan Kuniev (13-3-1), turning back the Russian in a fight 11 of 13 media scores on MMADecisions.com saw go the other way. While a loss, Kuniev proved that he can hang with some of the division’s top names by giving a fifth-ranked contender a tough night.
Myktybek Orolbai (13-2-1) spoiled the UFC debut of former RIZIN Lightweight Grand Prix winner Tofiq Musayev (22-5), closing out a dominant showing on the ground with a first-round kimura submission. Orolbai notably had weight issues heading into this weekend’s bout, forcing the matchup to be moved to a catchweight of 165 pounds.
After seven straight decisions, Nazim Sadykhov (11-1-1) scored the first finish of the night, ending a back-and-forth battle on the feet with a right hook against Nikolas Motta (15-6) in the second round. Sadykhov, a New Yorker who represents Azerbaijan, has pieced together an impressive four finish wins and one draw since he joined the UFC roster in 2023.
The prelims were, for the most part, skippable. The most dreadful part was when a dominant win for Park Jun-yong (19-6) got delayed significantly due to opponent Ismail Naurdiev (24-8) landing a blatantly illegal strike. That bout ended with a weird scorecard, including the third-ever 29-25 score in UFC history, per MMADecisions.com. There were a lot of decisions… Two of them stuck out the most to me:
Korean welterweight prospect Ko Seok-hyeon (12-2) had an impressive UFC debut, handing Oban Elliott (12-3) his first defeat in the promotion through four appearances. Ko put together more than 10 minutes of control time, allowing him to earn a decision victory despite being a +360 underdog on some sportsbooks. Ko was signed onto the UFC after winning on the “Contender Series” last year.
In a notable flyweight bout buried low in the lineup, 12th-ranked Tagir Ulanbekov (17-2) got past Azat Maksum (15-2) in a highly competitive contest. Maksum was able to shut down Ulanbekov’s wrestling, forcing the fight to primarily take place on the feet. Ulanbekov had the upper hand in the close striking battle, but the Kazakhstani up-and-comer proved that he was a formidable opponent with a ranked talent at 125.
Here are the quick results:
Main Card (3:00PM EDT) (ABC / ESPN+)
Bout 12: Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Jamahal Hill via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Rafael Fiziev def. Ignacio Bahamondes via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Curtis Blaydes def. Rizvan Kuniev via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Myktybek Orolbai def. Tofiq Musayev via Submission, Kimura (RD 1, 4:35)
Bout 8: Nazim Sadykhov def. Nikolas Motta via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:17)
Bout 7: Muhammad Naimov def. Bogdan Grad via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (12:00PM EDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 6: Ko Seok-hyun def. Oban Elliott via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Park Jun-yong def. Ismail Naurdiev via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Darya Zheleznyakova def. Melissa Mullins via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Klaudia Sygula def. Irina Alekseeva via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Azat Maksum via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Mohammed Usman def. Hamdy Abdelwahab via Decision, Unanimous