Jon Jones is making the most of his time off.
The reigning UFC heavyweight world champion revealed that he recently underwent surgery on his elbow while still recovering from a torn pectoral injury that forced him out of his previously scheduled UFC 295 headliner against Stipe Miocic. Taking to Instagram, ‘Bones’ revealed that he underwent a two-hour procedure “shaving down some bone spurs” while still sidelined by his prior injury.
“Good news is that it’s about a 10-week healing process,” Jones said. “I’m out for months anyway because of this pec surgery, so I just thought I’d kill two birds and get this elbow taken care of once and for all.
“Back on this recovery, still on this recovery journey. Sometimes you have to take a small step back in order to move forward, and I’m patient.”
🚨| Jon Jones has revealed he underwent surgery on his left elbow earlier today.
He says the recovery is around 10 weeks and got it done as he knew he was going to be out anyway so he thought he’d "kill two birds” whilst he also recovers from his torn pec.#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/6rIBymAHWy
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) January 8, 2024
Jones’ torn pectoral is expected to keep him out for upwards of eight months, putting him on track for a potential return in the summer of 2024.
Tom Aspinall Rises In Jon Jones’ Absence
In his absence, the promotion crowned an interim heavyweight champion in November. Tom Aspinall scored a sensation first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 295 co-main event. Typically, the interim champion would go on to face the undisputed titleholder once cleared to return. However, that will not be the case for Aspinall as UFC CEO Dana White has remained adamant that the UFC will rebook Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for some time in 2024, leaving Aspinall to sit on the sidelines and wait for his opportunity to unify the titles against one of them.
Aspinall has been increasingly frustrated since White made the announcement, targeting both Jones and Miocic on social media. Recently, Aspinall slammed the UFC’s booking of Miocic given the fact that the two-time titleholder hasn’t won a fight since August 2020.
