Jon Jones has cast doubt over his chances of competing at the White House, with the former UFC champion providing a deflating health update.

Days after retiring from mixed martial arts last summer, Jones made a drastic about-turn, expressing a strong desire to compete on the South Lawn as the UFC announced plans for an unprecedented fight card.

UFC president Dana White gave Jones a “billion-to-one” chance of featuring at the White House, hinting that he might not be able to trust the former heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion, who has had numerous legal issues and failed drug tests over the last decade.

But now Jones himself has cast doubt over a possible fight at the White House, despite his dream to represent the United States at the event, which is scheduled for 14 June – president Donald Trump’s birthday – as a celebration of 250 years of the country’s existence.

In a video shared by Championship Rounds, Jones was asked about a possible wrestling match with old UFC rival Daniel Cormier, under the promotion Real American Freestyle. And Jones’s answer seemingly rules out a UFC return.

“Bro, I have… I have severe arthritis, and most people don’t know that,” said Jones, 38.

“My left hip is covered in arthritis. I actually already qualify for a hip replacement. My last training camp, dude, I went to bed in so much pain.

“I have a three-year-old baby boy, and I want to use what I’ve got left in my hips to play with [him].”

Jones last fought in November 2024, stopping divisional great Stipe Miocic to retain the UFC heavyweight title. Jones then refused to defend the belt against interim champion Tom Aspinall before retiring last summer. As a result, Britain’s Aspinall was elevated to undisputed champion.

Jones’s rivalry with Cormier was one of the bitterest in UFC history. The American pair first clashed in 2015, with Jones winning a decision to retain the light-heavyweight title.

Jones was later stripped of the belt after his arrest on hit-and-run charges, and Cormier won the vacant title in the meantime. Jones returned in 2016 and won the interim belt, but he was stripped of that title due to a failed drug test, which also derailed a rematch with Cormier.

In their eventual rematch in 2017, Jones knocked out Cormier but the result was overturned to a No Contest, as it was found that Jones had failed another drug test.