Jon Jones appears to be rethinking his retirement stance after a face-to-face conversation with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell in Miami on Friday.
Jones had recently declared an end to his fighting career, saying, "My gloves are hung up… no more fighter Jon Jones," and was left off the June 14 UFC White House lineup, even publicly asking the promotion to release him.
Speaking at a Dirty Boxing event in Miami, Jones confirmed he and Campbell discussed his future. "We had that conversation tonight," Jones said. "Yeah, we did have that conversation. I took a stem cell right before the White House card was created, and I’m starting to feel the effects of that stem cell, I feel really good physically."
Jones has previously pointed to "severe arthritis" as a factor in his comeback struggles, but now says he does not want to rush any decision. "So I told them let’s not put any pressure on anything, I want to focus on coaching Gable right now," he added, referring to heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, who is set to wrestle at RAF 9 on May 30 and is expected to sign with the UFC.
"But who knows what the future holds?" Jones said, leaving the door open to a potential return after previously announcing alongside UFC CEO Dana White in June that his fighting days were over.
