UFC 326 was a revealing event not just for Charles Oliveira, but also for the White House card. After all, the entire main card was announced during the event. However, after the fights ended, Dana White sat down for the post-fight press conference with hordes of reporters surrounding him, and the truth about Jon Jones’ involvement in the card came to light.

White recently revealed that one of the June 14 fights had been canceled. And Ariel Helwani had reported that the UFC was in serious conversation with ‘Bones’ to be part of the card, but it didn’t happen because they couldn’t reach a financial agreement. So, when the card was revealed, and Jones wasn’t on it, many speculated whether the canceled fight was Jones’.

“No, it’s not,” Dana White said about the speculations. “Never ever, which I told you guys a 100,000 times, was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House. First of all, I’ve told you why I wouldn’t do it. And number two, some guy, with Meta glasses on, filmed him talking about his hips—that his hips are so bad [he can’t fight anymore].”

Dana White also pointed to a clip of Jones playing in the celebrity flag football game during Super Bowl week in February. The clip showed the former heavyweight champion could barely run, and White used it to confirm that Jon Jones has effectively retired from the sport. He also pointed out Jones’ own admission that he has arthritis in his hips, and has even been told by doctors that he is eligible for hip replacement surgery.

“Add that on top of all the other reasons that I wouldn’t [let Jones fight on the White House card],” White added during the post-fight presser. “The Jon Jones thing is bulls—t. I’m not saying they weren’t talking to Jon Jones, and that Jon Jones wasn’t interested. [What’s even crazier is] Jones came out and was like, ‘I’m in negotiations for the White House fight’ after I had already sent a text to his lawyer, ‘Never gonna happen ever.’”

Notably, Jones had announced his U-turn from retirement last year after news of the UFC White House card broke. Dana White had instantly dismissed the idea, claiming he doesn’t trust the undefeated heavyweight enough to add him to the card. Although some reports had suggested that Jones was trying his best to persuade White, Jones ultimately gave up, publicly withdrawing his name from the run to fight on the card. 

And Dana White confirmed that tonight, concluding, “Yes, very fair [to say he’s retired].”

The dissatisfaction with Jones can be traced back to the failed negotiations for a Tom Aspinall fight. After he beat Stipe Miocic, the UFC fandom and the brass wanted Jones to unify the title against then-interim champion Aspinall. According to Ariel Helwani, the promotion even agreed to Jones’ $30M asking fee, only for Jones to pull the rug out from underneath them. So, White was not about to let him have this one.

With Jones out of the picture, Alex Pereira is now scheduled to face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title on the White House card as the co-main event. Jones, in the meantime, has yet to comment on White’s statement during the UFC 326 post-fight presser. Regardless, it’s not just Jon Jones who won’t be part of the historic card. 

Like Jon Jones, Dana White has kept Conor McGregor out

Much like ‘Bones,’ former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor has been advocating for a spot on the White House card. At one point, he even claimed that it was a “done deal.” However, that clearly wasn’t true, as Michael Chandler, who he initially wanted to fight, has received a spot, but Conor was nowhere to be seen. 

However, it’s not all bad for ‘The Mac.’ Previous reports suggested that he could end up fighting the winner of Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira. This was confirmed by McGregor himself, who claimed he had a hunch the UFC would do that for his return. And since Oliveira has emerged victorious as the new BMF champion, the pair could fight down the line, although not on the UFC White House card. 

Clearly, there’s no end to UFC politics. But for a while, fans were convinced Jones would return. But were you?