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Jon Jones Officially Returns to MMA as Comeback Event Confirmed

Home> MMA> UFC> UFC News

Updated 13:36 6 Jan 2026 GMTPublished 12:08 6 Jan 2026 GMT

Jon Jones Officially Returns to MMA as Comeback Event Confirmed

The UFC legend could finally return to the octagon following his retirement last year.

Ben McCrum

Ben McCrum

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Jon Jones is finally set to return to the octagon in a tense reunion with his biggest rivals.

It's now been 14 months since UFC legend Jones last competed inside the octagon as he defended his heavyweight title against former champion Stipe Miocic.

Following the dominant performance, Jones was heavily linked with a unification bout with then-interim champion Tom Aspinall but, after months of negotiations, Jones decided instead to retire.

Since then, Jones has teased that he would potentially come out of retirement and return to the UFC for a fight on the famous White House card set to take place in July.

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But now, the former champion's official return to the octagon has been confirmed as he's set to compete against a man who was undoubtedly the biggest rival of his entire career.

Jon Jones retired from the UFC after his victory over Stipe Miocic. Image: Getty
Jon Jones retired from the UFC after his victory over Stipe Miocic. Image: Getty

In the history of the UFC there has perhaps never been a more fierce rivalry than the one between Jones and fellow UFC legend Daniel Cormier.

The pair fought twice in UFC bouts, with Jones winning both encounters, with the genuine hatred between the pair clearly visible throughout the buildup to both fights and beyond.

And now, it has been revealed that the pair will meet again as coaches for the ALF reality series, a Russian MMA series similar to the UFC's 'The Ultimate Fighter'.

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The likes of Khamzat Chimaev, Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling and Nate Diaz have all acted as coaches in previous series, with Jones even briefly serving as a coach alongside Diaz.

Filming for the series is expected to start in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately for fans, unlike The Ultimate Fighter, coaches on the the ALF reality series do not fight each other at the end of the season, meaning we will not be seeing a trilogy fight between Jones and Cormier.

However, Cormier has suggested another idea that would see him compete against Jones for a third time, a Real American Freestyle (RAF) Wrestling match.

Yoel Romero, Arman Tsarukyan, and Henry Cejudo have all competed in the RAF recently, and Cormier has claimed that a match with Jones could be on the cards.

“I’m telling you, Real American Freestyle Wrestling is gonna see me and Jon Jones at some point, and I’m gonna kick his ass, like you would never believe,” Cormier said during an interview with Ben Askren.

“Because guess what? I still shoot, I still train wrestlers every single day, so I don’t have a problem shooting."

Featured Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Topics: Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, UFC, MMA

Ben McCrum
Ben McCrum

Ben is a sports journalist who specialises in football, Formula One and MMA. He has written for publications such as Manchester Evening News, WiganToday, Manchester World and beIN Sports. Throughout his career, he has interviewed top athletes including Gareth Southgate, Luke Littler, Tom Aspinall and Jenson Button.

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@benmcc14

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