Jon Jones‘ surprise retirement announcement at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference was billed as the end of a historic chapter, with one of the greatest fighters in MMA history walking away on his terms. It felt clean, ceremonial, and final. But, according to Ariel Helwani, it may have been something else entirely. To him, the timing seemed not only weird but suspicious.
Helwani spoke on The MMA Hour about his confusion following the announcement. “I reached out to Jeff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal,” he claimed, expecting to hear that the UFC was attempting to get ahead of things. But that was not the case. Instead, Grammer, acting on instinct, looked up Jon Jones’ name in Albuquerque police records after hearing of his retirement.
So, what did he find? A bombshell that even Helwani could not fully comprehend. “That’s absurd,” he exclaimed, astonished by what had been revealed. The documents revealed an incident from February that had been kept hidden for four months. A woman, apparently intoxicated and partially clothed, was found in a crashed vehicle.
She told officials that Jon Jones was the driver and that he fled the scene. While Jones’ legal team has fiercely refuted the charges, calling them “unwarranted” and pointing to inconsistencies in the woman’s statement. However, the timing of it all—moments after Jones announced his retirement—left many fans stunned.
Ariel Helwani questioned how such a high-profile incident involving one of Albuquerque’s most well-known residents could go unnoticed. Jones’ legal issues were previously made public within hours. “To suggest now that the UFC got ahead of this because they knew—no,” he said.
Helwani made it clear that this was not the UFC’s attempt to lessen the blow—it was pure luck. “They literally dodged it by minutes,” he added. If Grammer hadn’t followed a hunch, this story might never have been told—or at least, not until much later.
As a result, retirement is no longer certain. Is Jon Jones truly done with the sport? Or was this a well-timed retreat to avoid the fallout from something far messier? Well, that is a question that will be left unanswered for a while. However, this also made the MMA journalist go on an all-out rant against ‘Bones.’
Ariel Helwani denies Jon Jones the GOAT status
Ariel Helwani believes the story does not end with suspicious timing and police records. In his opinion, Jon Jones’ entire legacy, which was once nearly untouchable, is now forever tarnished. The MMA journalist did not hold back. If this was Jones’ final act, it did not simply end a chapter. It tore out a few pages that Helwani believed were the most important.
“I don’t want to hear the GOAT talk. I’m sorry,” Helwani stated. “You cannot be the GOAT if you have multiple PED infractions on your record. You can’t.” However, the issue was not limited to failed tests. Helwani was frustrated by Jones’ persistent refusal to face Tom Aspinall, perhaps the division’s most dangerous and deserving contender.
“Time-honored tradition—you fight the top contenders,” he added. “Not only was Tom Aspinall the top contender, he was the interim champion for almost two years. You didn’t want to fight him.” It was a devastating takedown, with no spin or safety net. Helwani believes that greatness is determined not by statistics or championship defenses, but by how a fighter exits.
Jones breached the unspoken code by stepping away without facing the man waiting in the wings. It was more than just a retreat; it was a reluctance to provide fans with the closure they deserved. And with that, Helwani went beyond questioning Jones’ GOAT status. He stripped it away.
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