Jon Jones praises fellow UFC legend Dustin Poirier for opening up about ‘mental state’ after arrest

Jon Jones has seen the positive light of Dustin Poirier’s arrest.

Poirier, who retired from MMA following a defeat to Max Holloway at UFC 318 last July, was arrested over Father’s Day weekend this month for public drunkenness.

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Shocking footage then emerged just days later of the 41-fight veteran threatening to fight a police officer during his arrest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.

Poirier told one officer, ‘I’ll fight you right now,’ and said the situation was ‘gonna be bad,’ before he later threatened to ‘bang up’ those in front of him.

It has since led to a call for help from Poirier, who said in a statement hours after the video was made public that he is ‘trying to do everything I can to get my mind right.’

‘The Diamond’ has previously admitted to struggling with his day-to-day life post-retirement, which is a common trend among fighters.

And Jones, who is also currently retired and has had his fair share of legal trouble, sees Poirier’s frankness as a breath of fresh air.

Asked during an online Q&A session if he has ‘more respect’ for Poirier in the days following his arrest, Jones responded: “I mean no, but I do respect the fact that he’s being honest about his mental state.

“I swear, in some weird way, retiring from the UFC almost feels like retiring from the military or something.

“There’s so many similarities. I have conversations with my special forces buddies about this type of stuff all the time, it’s a huge change, or at least it can be.”

Is Jon Jones going to fight again?

Jones announced his MMA retirement in June 2025 following tumultuous negotiations with the UFC to fight current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

The 38-year-old had defended the UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic seven months prior and was expected to face interim champion at the time Aspinall to unify the division.

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But the American had publicly stated that he only wanted legacy-defining fights at this stage of his career, against the likes of Alex Pereira.

And after rejecting $30million to fight Aspinall, he abruptly retired.

However, Jones has since teased a comeback several times, having returned to training and admitted he feels better than ever.

Just last week, ‘Bones’ told fans he’s ‘moving like I never left,’ as he nears the completion of his training camp for Gable Steveson ahead of UFC 329.

He had pleaded with UFC CEO Dana White to book him on the promotion’s historic White House show earlier this month.

And Jones was extremely frustrated with White when alleged negotiations never materialised, although the latter insisted his former champion was ‘never’ considered for the White House card.

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But Jones seemingly remains confident he will return, whether that’s in the UFC, a different promotion, or even another sport.

Who could Jon Jones fight next?

On Monday, Oleksandr Usyk‘s team director Sergey Lapin named Jones among potential options for the Ukrainian heavyweight boxing legend’s final fight.

Jones has previously teased a switch to the sweet science and said it is possible to get out of his UFC contract despite having six fights left on the eight-fight deal he signed in January 2023.

Jones’ links to boxing have led to an offer from Jake Paul to fight at his Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).

Of course, MVP currently have former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on its roster, with Ngannou vs Jones being arguably the biggest ‘what if’ fight in the sport’s history.

Plus, if Jones signed with MVP, he would have the freedom to compete in both MMA and boxing.

Should Jones stay in the UFC, he may be tempted to go back into conversations about fighting Aspinall if the Englishman can beat Ciryl Gane in their expected rematch.

He won’t, however, be interested in facing Pereira, who is fresh off a loss to Gane in an interim heavyweight title bout at UFC White House.

Having said that, Jones revealed in February that he has been dealing with ‘severe arthritis’ for years and the reality could well be that he never fights again.