Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones announced his retirement from fighting last month. Two weeks later, he re-entered the anti-doping testing pool after President Donald Trump announced that a UFC event on the White House grounds was being planned for next year.
The fight promotion was working to book a title unification bout between Jones and Tom Aspinall, but ultimately Jones decided to relinquish the championship and walk away. Aspinall was elevated from interim titleholder to undisputed champion.
Two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament champion and UFC Hall of Fame inductee Mark Kerr understands where Jones may be been mentally when he decided to retire.
“It’s not about him fighting Aspinall. It’s not about that. It’s about something else. As a fighter myself, the second you lose that kind of fire – And it’s not the fighter to fight. It’s the fire to train to fight. You’ve got to step back because it’s not the way you want to go forward,” Kerr told The Schmo.
“I would love to see him fight again. Whether it happens or not, he’s given me plenty of fights of watching enjoyment. Like, watching him do his craft. Incredible,” continued Kerr.
Related: Ilia Topuria: ‘Even Khabib Nurmagomedov knows I’ll put Islam Makhachev to sleep’
Jones seemingly plans to fight again and wants to land on the UFC White House fight card. But if Jones never fights again Kerr believes his legacy as the greatest is etched in stone.
“Part of what’s unique about him, he’s fighting other skilled fighters. When he was at his peak he made the other fighters look like they had never fought before,” Kerr said. “He’s just incredible, as a tactician, as an athlete. To watch him is like watching [Mike] Tyson when he was at his peak. You’re like, ‘Oh my God, what am I seeing? I’ve never seen that before.’ That’s what Jon Jones brought to the table.”
