Jones has cooled on the idea of fighting his next challenger, should he defeat Miocic. British fighter Tom Aspinall has held down the division as interim heavyweight champion — a title necessitated by Jones’ lengthy absence — and has been chirping for months about a unification bout.

Whether Jon Jones is using the leverage of retirement to up his price for future bouts, or has run out of opponents that excite him, or is seriously contemplating the end of his career, it's clear his heavyweight title fight against longtime former champion Stipe Miocic on Saturday is likely one of the final times we'll see Jones (27-1,