Former pound-for-pound kingpin Jon Jones has announced his return. Less than two weeks after vacating the heavyweight title and riding off into the sunset, Jones has indicated that he’s re-entered the UFC’s testing pool.
In doing so, he will be eligible to fight again in six months, giving him plenty of time before the reported UFC White House event, expected to take place on Jul. 4, 2026.
Jones announced his return in a post on social media Friday, less than one day after the U.S. President announced plans for a UFC event at the White House in 2026.
“Fighting at the White House?”
He then followed it up, elaborating on the situation:
“Just re-entered the testing pool, that lasted for about two weeks. Figured weâd keep everyoneâs options open.”
Although fans had speculated that the former champ would return to action in the future, few could have predicted how soon he would re-enter the testing pool.
Michael Chandler Teases Fight with Conor McGregor at the White House
Following Donald Trump‘s announcement on Thursday, a number of notable UFC fighters quickly expressed an interest in fighting at the White House.
Most notably, Conor McGregor shared a screenshot indicating that he had already contacted Dana White via Instagram about returning for the card.
Shortly after, McGregor shared an AI-generated image of himself and Michael Chandler on the White House lawn, writing:
“The only place where disputes truly get settled. The White House.”
Chandler then reposted the image on his Instagram story on Friday, writing:
“Anybody fancy a good old-fashioned passionate red, white and blue a** whoopin on the lawn of the white house?”
@MikeChandlerMMA – InstagramMichael Chandler teases a fight with Conor McGregor on Instagram
If Jon Jones were to return and fight on the card, and a McGregor-Chandler fight wound up taking place on the card, it’s safe to say we could be looking at one of the UFC’s best-selling pay-per-view events.
That, of course, is a big “if”.
MMA Community Reacts to News of UFC White House Event
Following Trump’s announcement on Thursday, a number of UFC fighters were quick to weigh-in on social media, with a number indicating their interest in competing on the card.
Considering Trump’s connection to Colby Covington, Randy Brown was quick to call for a fight against the former interim champ:
“Give me Colby Covington at the Whitehouse.”
As a former US Military Vet, Matt Frevola is hoping he gets priority placement:
“Former Vets who never had a boring fight get priority or what?”
Streaking lightweight Terrance McKinney also threw his name into the hat:
“Just heard Trump is gonna have ufc fights at the White House and Iâd love to KO someone on the grounds of Americaâs capital in the name of independence.”
Former Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum added:
“Crazy”
Billy Quarantillo indicated that he’s eager to get on the card as well:
“Gotta get on that White House card.”
Additionally, while he hasn’t spoken about the situation, the expectation is Bo Nickal will likely compete on the card given his friendship with Trump.
Other notable American-born fighters who could compete on the event include: Justin Gaethje, Sean Strickland, Sean O’Malley, Sean Brady, and, if he returns to the Octagon, Jorge Masvidal, who has been a longtime supporter of Trump’s.
If the event does happening, it could wind up going down as one of the biggest in UFC history.
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