John Jones can kiss his dream of fighting in the White House bye.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump held a UFC fight card on the White House lawn in 2026, making headlines to mark his 250th birthday. At first it seemed like another wild claim from a suffering Potus. However, UFC CEO Dana White later revealed that the promotion was actually working to bring the event together at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
From that moment on, all the fighters under the UFC banner came out of woodworking and declared their desire to compete in history-making events. That includes John Jones, who shortened his retirement and quickly returned to the Test pool, hoping to fight in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately for Jones, that doesn’t happen.
“With John Jones – he says he wants to be (the White House card),” White told UFC 318’s postwar press conference. “But I risk putting him in a big position and something goes wrong in a big place, especially the White House card.”
With a hefty rap sheet and a year-old ducking tom aspinol, it’s no surprise that White doesn’t want to risk putting “bones” on such a big card just to start slamming police cars into his head ahead of the night of the fight.
John Jones responds to Dana White
Needless to say, Jones was disappointed after hearing the news.
“I heard comments were made at last night’s press conference,” Jones wrote X:
“In a recent interview, I shared that the opportunity to compete in the White House gave me something deeper to fight: ‘Why’ that goes beyond pay and belts. Fighting for my country gives me a great purpose!
“This all silver lining knows fans will see my heart. They are happy to be ready and representing my country at the historical stage. For me, it was never just an opponent.
The final bit about “everyone is ready and happy” caused quite a stir on social media.