Jon Jones Reveals He Turned Down Opportunity to Headline UFC 300

It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is covering all its bases in pursuit of a suitable headliner for its 300th event.

During an interview with Submission Radio, Jones revealed that he was contacted by the promotion in the hopes that he might be healthy enough to compete in the main event of UFC 300. Jones, who was forced to withdraw from UFC 295 this past November due to a torn pectoral, also underwent elbow surgery earlier this year. “Bones” is expected to be rebooked against Miocic once he is fully healthy, but it won’t be at UFC 300.

“I got a call from Hunter Campbell, one of the head lawyers of the UFC, asking me, he said, ‘Jon I know it’s only nine weeks away but if there’s any chance that you’re feeling up to it, it’d be awesome news for the community that you’re coming back and headlining one of the biggest events ever.’ As honored as I am for the opportunity, I just don’t think I’ll be ready. I just don’t,” Jones said. “I’m getting up there in age and I only have a few more events left, and I want to give those events my all and make sure I come back 100%.”

UFC 300 takes place on Aprl 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card features a “BMF” title clash between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, while Weili Zhang will defend her strawweight crown against Xiaonan Yan. Additionally, Charles Oliveira will lock horns with Arman Tsarukyan in a five-round title eliminator at lightweight. UFC CEO Dana White has teased a marquee headliner, but thus far nothing has been confirmed in that regard.

While Jones is unable to be a hero for UFC 300, he did provide some potentially good news regarding the status of his fighting career. Jones had previously indicated that he could retire after facing Miocic, but he sounded more open to a future booking against interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall during his most recent interview. Aspinall has repeatedly called for an opportunity to fight Jones in recent months, both in interviews and on social media. That led to some back-and-forth between Jones and Aspinall last month.

“I’m going to base whether I continue to fight on how I compete against Stipe, how I heal up from this injury,” Jones said. I could blow Stipe out of the water or it could be an absolute war. I feel like I need to take one step at a time before seeing what I do next. The Tom fight is definitely not off the table. Especially with how I’ve been feeling being out here. I feel totally reinvigorated and reenergized just being around all these fans. I can’t just walk away. The ball is rolling in a very positive direction for the career to continue.”