Jon Jones may be the king of curveballs, but even this move surprised everyone. Just two weeks after announcing his retirement, the former two-division UFC champion quietly re-entered the UFC athlete testing pool. The announcement came tucked between cryptic posts about fighting at the White House and reactivating his eligibility.

Most fans assumed that the promise of a historic UFC 2026 event on White House grounds, teased by President Donald Trump himself had stirred ‘Bones’ back into action. But according to a certain UFC Hall of Famer, the real motivation isn’t the promise of a spectacle in Washington, D.C. It’s the rise of Tom Aspinall.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping stated, “All that stuff going on, all the distractions, being out in Thailand, maybe partying, waking up hungover, and thought, you know what I can’t deal with a f— fight camp, right?” Indicating that ‘Bones’ decision to walk away from the sport might have been influenced by these factors.

But something changed, and according to ‘The Count’, “He’s been going a bit berserk on Twitter lately but maybe he’s come back. He’s gone straight and narrow. He’s got his s— together, he’s thinking straight and clean. And it’s like, you know what? Yeah, I’ve got a bunch of money coming in from this lawsuit, but I am leaving a lot of money on the table.”

Jon Jones is reportedly set to cash in a seven-figure settlement from the UFC anti-trust lawsuit. Yet, his bout with Tom Aspinall has the potential to overshadow even that.

As such, Bisping continued in the video, “And maybe now, because Tom has got a new opponent right? There’s going to be more footage on him. There’s going to be more tape to study. There’s going to be a potential for Tom to get beat, for him to have more miles on the clock and he can come out and fight the winner…”

With ‘Bones’ officially out, Dana White has declared Aspinall as the undisputed champion. While the British powerhouse hasn’t revealed who his next opponent is, he confirmed recently that a date and opponent have been locked in behind the scenes.

That could be what Jon Jones is really watching as ‘The Count’ explained in his take. But there might be another, more significant factor for him to return.

Jon Jones might return to silence the “ducking Tom Aspinall” claims, according to Michael Bisping

While money and the prospect of fighting at the White House could be hard to ignore, Michael Bisping thinks it’s not that simple. It might be personal, a deep itch Jon Jones just can’t ignore.

In the same video, the UFC veteran explained, “I think it’s something much deeper. I think it’s him just kind of realizing and coming back and being around his team and thinking, ‘you know what, I have still got something to give. I have still got something to prove to the world. I have still got to show Tom Aspinall that I can beat him’. And he’s not just going to show Tom. He’s going to show the entire MMA community, fan base, UFC MMA, fight fans all over the world.”

After Jones walked away, the heavyweight belt went to Tom Aspinall. And just like that, a new king was crowned. But it didn’t go unnoticed that Jones left right when things got interesting. In fact, during the entire long-drawn-out saga of the heavyweight title unification bout, ‘Bones’ was seemingly labeled as ‘ducking’ the Brit by fans in the MMA sphere.

Bisping wasn’t alone in thinking it either. He pointed out that while some still give Jones the benefit of the doubt, many believe he backed out before facing his first real test at heavyweight. Not just any contender, but someone younger, faster, more agile, with knockout power and submission skills. Someone who can wrestle, strike, and take a punch.

In short, someone like Aspinall. As such, Bisping further shared, “The first time you came up against somebody like that, you walked away from the sport. That’s not a good look. And maybe that is what has been eating away at him inside ever since he told the UFC, ‘I’m gonna walk away’. ”

To wrap things up, Jon Jones may say it’s about history, the White House, or unfinished business, but Michael Bisping believes the real fire reason is a growing shadow cast by Tom Aspinall. For the first time, ‘Bones’ isn’t the young lion chasing greatness; he might be the legend trying not to be remembered for walking away when he needed to step up the most.