Jon Jones responds to criticism about his UFC retirement

Jon Jones on Tuesday responded to the criticism about his UFC retirement in a social media post saying ‘I guess everybody else gets to retire, just not when you’re still dominating’.

For several months, Jones was the centre of attention among fans and the UFC for his fight with former interim champion Tom Aspinall.

Jones and UFC were under immense pressure after continuous stress from fans, as the American was not accepting the challenge of a unification bout from Aspinall.

However, this past Saturday following a fight night event in Azerbaijan, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jones has officially retired and Aspinall is the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.

Jones also confirmed his retirement with a social media post, which was flooded by fans, criticising him for ‘ducking’ a fight with Aspinall.

Along with criticism, there were also some heartfelt tributes. Demetrious Johnson, a fellow American MMA fighter of Jones, however, is confused by ‘Bones’ decision to retire instead of fighting Aspinall.

Now after a few days of Jones’ official retirement, he has responded to the criticism with an Instagram story online.

“I guess everybody else gets to retire, just not when you’re still dominating. Funny how that works. Forget personal goals, forget business ventures. Some folks really believe you should fight until they say you’ve had enough. Wild. Imagine thinking a grown man shouldn’t control his own destiny,” Jones said in an Instagram story of all of the UFC champions from 2011.

In another post on X (Formerly Twitter), Jones called some people ‘snakes’ in a cryptic message. 

“One thing we all know about snakes, you let them hang around long enough, it’s only a matter of time before you get bit. It’s good to be real with the people that’s known you for a long time, but sometimes it’s ok to outgrow people,” Jones said in a post on X.