Jon Jones Stuns MMA World With Surprise Bare-Knuckle Announcement For March 28!
Jon Jones has spent the past few months engaged in public warfare with Dana White. The former two-division champion desperately wanted a spot on the historic UFC White House card scheduled for June 14th. He campaigned publicly for a super fight against Alex Pereira that would have generated massive pay-per-view numbers. But White refused to include Jones on the card, claiming the heavyweight champion was essentially retired due to arthritis issues. The ongoing dispute between Jones and White has dominated MMA headlines for weeks with no resolution in sight.
Jones clearly isn’t sitting around feeling sorry for himself after getting snubbed from the White House card. The 38-year-old legend took to Instagram Sunday to announce his next role as an ambassador for IBA Bare Knuckle. His first event with the promotion happens this Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia with a stacked six-fight card.
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Jon Jones Becomes Permanent Co-Host For IBA Bare Knuckle
Jon Jones shared a video on Instagram explaining his new partnership with IBA Bare Knuckle to his millions of followers. The announcement caught everyone in the MMA community completely off guard given his ongoing issues with the UFC. Nobody expected Jones to align himself with another combat sports organization so quickly after the White House card drama.
“Hello, this is MMA legend Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. And I’m excited to announce my new partnership as an ambassador for IBA Bare Knuckle. Big thank you to you, Alfredo… My first event with the company is going to be in St. Petersburg [on] March 28th. I’m super excited to see you all there, and let’s have a Hara Showtime.”
Jones will serve as the promotion’s permanent co-host for events moving forward according to posts shared on social media. That role keeps him actively involved in combat sports without actually competing himself. The March 28th card features a high-profile main event between former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero and local fighter Vagab Vagabov. Having Jones as co-host immediately elevates the event’s profile internationally.
The International Boxing Association officially introduced bare-knuckle boxing as a new discipline in May 2025. They launched their first major event, IBA Bare Knuckle 1, on July 26th, 2025 in Moscow, Russia. Since that inaugural show, the organization has staged two more events exclusively in Russia. The IBA previously oversaw boxing at the Olympic Games before being stripped of those duties by the International Olympic Committee in June 2023 due to governance and transparency issues.
(Image Credit: Sky Sports)
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