Jon Jones and Conor McGregor both finally confirmed in person that they will end their hiatus to fight on the UFC White House card.
Jones recently announced he would vacate his UFC heavyweight title and retire from the promotion after failing to reach an agreement with Tom Aspinall.
But after US president Donald Trump confirmed he would be putting on a first ever fight card at the White House, ‘Bones’ decided to reverse his decision.
And he has now himself spoken out about his decision, and teased a huge fight for the belt, which is now held by long-term rival Aspinall.
He said: “I would want to take on whoever’s holding the belt at the end of the year.
“As of right now, the champion is Tom Aspinall but we’ll see who’s the champion at the end of the year.
“I feel like it would only be fitting to have an American guy fight for the championship that night.
“I think it’s exciting. Very exciting. I can’t promise anything but I have a very strong feeling that I’ll be on that card.”
Fellow UFC superstar McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
He was set to return last year against Michael Chandler, but it collapsed after he withdrew with another injury.
But now he too has confirmed that a return is on the cards for the blockbuster White House bill.
He said: “I’m going home, going to get the head down, going to rest. They’re testing me, I’m in the pool!
“So get ready! And stay ready, because damage will be done! Oval office, White House garden!”
Should the pair feature it promises to be arguably the biggest event in the UFC’s history.
It could even see viewing numbers eclipse the highest-selling pay-per-view ever headlined by McGregor’s 2018 defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.
There is huge anticipation for Jones to face Aspinall, who is deemed the best contender in the division right now.
But the American made huge financial demands, and the bout eventually collapsed.
White will hope he can convince both McGregor and Jones to return, but it is currently unclear who the former will face.
He has linked himself to huge tilts with the likes of Paddy Pimblett, Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev.
Nonetheless White believes the event won’t have been matched before in history.
He said: “Everybody wants to be on this card. I mean, you don’t even have to know who’s blowing up my phone.
“We’re going to be on the South Lawn, and literally, when you’re watching the fight, this will all be the White House here, and then behind me will be, you know, the Washington Monument.
“We’re just getting into logistics right now. My team has already walked the White House with the staff there, and now we’re putting together the design.
“And then we’ll all fly out to D.C. and sit down with [Trump] and see what he wants to do.”