Jon Jones’ anger over being overlooked by the UFC and Dana White for the historic White House card still hasn’t subsided. It’s no secret that ‘Bones’ was interested in the event, eyeing a showdown with Alex Pereira after making a U-turn on his retirement last year. However, White dismissed the idea early on, claiming he couldn’t rely on Jones after he declined a bout with Tom Aspinall despite being offered $30 million. Tensions escalated when the White House card was finally unveiled.

At UFC 326, the promotion revealed the lineup. Instead of Jones, ‘Poatan’ was booked to face Ciryl Gane. In the aftermath, White claimed that while Jones was approached, he was never considered for a spot. He also pointed to Jones’ own admission of arthritis as the reason for the White House snub. Soon after, the former heavyweight champ vented his frustrations online in a series of tweets. He criticized White and even called for the UFC to release him. But now, he has a more direct message for White.

“Random thought,” Jones wrote on X. “Arthritis hurts, [but] it doesn’t make you cripple. I’m still smashing 99.47% of you out there.”

Jon Jones previously addressed White’s comments about his arthritis, claiming he had been going through stem cell treatment and was ready to start his training camp for the White House card. It’s worth noting that Ariel Helwani backed Jones by claiming the UFC was in serious talks with him for a fight. However, they couldn’t come to an agreement regarding Jones’ purse. 

The 38-year-old wanted something similar to what he was offered for the Tom Aspinall fight. However, Helwani claimed that the UFC had offered him something along the lines of what Zuffa Boxing, Dana White’s boxing venture, offered to Conor Benn. Journalist Dan Rafael revealed Benn was offered $15 million by Zuffa, which means Jones was getting half of what he wanted. 

For now, Jones remains on the sidelines, with his future uncertain. The former two-division champion last appeared in the cage back on November 16, 2024, at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden. ‘Bones’ defeated Stipe Miocic via TKO in the third round to defend his heavyweight title. However, after he announced his retirement last year, Aspinall was elevated to the full champion. 

In the meantime, though, even UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has chimed in on the whole arthritis situation.

Joe Rogan claims Jon Jones wanted to fight despite arthritis after being snubbed by Dana White

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan pushed back on the idea that Jones is finished, emphasizing that his competitive fire remains intact. 

“He doesn’t want to be done,” Rogan said. “I know he got stem cells on his hip. I know because I helped him get it. He’s talked about it. I wouldn’t have talked about it, but he talked about it. He got it at Ways2Well. He’s feeling a lot better. He does have arthritis in his hip. It bothers him, but it doesn’t bother him enough [that] he can’t fight.”

Clearly, either Dana White wasn’t aware of Jones’ stem cell treatment or genuinely didn’t want Jones to be on the card. Despite that, though, Dana White appears to have the utmost respect for the former heavyweight champion. While recently talking to Republican US Senator Ted Cruz on his podcast ‘Verdict’, White made an astonishing claim about Jones.

“Jon Jones would get inside, he would grab him, and he would just rip him apart, yes,” White said about Jones vs. prime Muhammad Ali.

With the smidge of respect that White still has for Jones, there’s still a minor possibility that the former heavyweight champion could make a comeback, albeit not on the White House card. But you have to ask yourself, at the age of 38, how viable is it really for Jon Jones to fight?

In any case, Jon Jones appears to be letting Dana White know that his arthritis issues haven’t made him a cripple. Whether that convinces White to book Jones for a fight is yet to be seen. But what do you make of Jones’ tweet?