Jon Jones says that he is once again an active member of the UFC roster, just months after previously announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Jones, the former longtime UFC light heavyweight titleholder, confirmed his retirement in June after a prolonged and ultimately unsuccessful attempts by the fight league to arrange a defence of his heavyweight championship against the interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.

However, amid reports that Jones turned down what would have been a career-high payday to fight the Englishman, Jones would in July state that he intended to re-enter the UFC’s drug-testing pool after noting his interest in appearing on the UFC card scheduled to take place on the White House lawn in July of 2026.

UFC CEO Dana White has so far refused to be drawn into speculation that Jones may be considered a contender to top the card – but despite this apparent reluctance from the UFC brass to trust him to headline a card of this magnitude, Jones has confirmed that he is training as if he is a full-time member of the roster.

“I’m not retired,” Jones said at Sunday’s MTV VMAs to Denise White, as reported by talkSPORT.

“I’m actively training five days a week, and I’m in the UFC’s drug testing pool.”

But as to whether he will be on hand in Washington DC next summer, ‘Bones’ admitted he was unsure as to whether his services will be required.

“It’s kind of out of my control now. I’m training for the event. I’ll be ready for the event,” he said.

“That’s my goal. That’s my intention, but ultimately it’s up to the boss.”