Report | Jon Jones will not fight again in 2019

According to Ariel Helwani, Jon Jones will not be fighting this year.

The light heavyweight champion teased a big fight announcement for this year, but Ariel Helwani squashed any speculation on Twitter.

Buckle your seatbelt my friends, Big fiight announcement coming soon https://t.co/6cDNQ6XChL

— BONY (@JonnyBones) September 9, 2019

“Buckle your seatbelts, my friends,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Big fight announcement coming soon.”

All but confirms Jones won’t fight again this year. There was some talk of Nov and Dec but nothing enticing out there. https://t.co/A2zE7xjkdx

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 10, 2019

“All but confirms Jones won’t fight again this year,” Helwani reported shortly thereafter. “There was some talk of Nov and Dec but nothing enticing out there.”

Jon Jones last fought at UFC 239, when he defeated Thiago Santos by split decision. He has no fight lined up currently.

There was talk of a trilogy fight between Jones and former UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier. However, Cormier’s loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 means he is likely focused on retirement as opposed to cutting weight for a light heavyweight bout against his adversary. Jones then teased the possibility of a fight against Stipe Miocic. However, Dana White extinguished any rumours that Jones would be fighting Miocic or Cormier. Instead, he said ‘Bones’ would be fighting light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz.

“I think Jan. I think Jan looked good in his last performance,” White told BT Sport. “And where he sits in the rankings, he’s the man.”

Jan Blachowicz is currently ranked #5 in the light heavyweight rankings. In his last fight, he knocked out Luke Rockhold in the second round.

Since White’s comments, The UFC has back-peddled and booked Blachowicz for a fight against Jacare Souza at UFC Fight Night on November 16 in São Paulo, Brazil. Ariel Helwani’s post was in response to that news.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/11/2019.