Jon Jones undergoes elbow surgery, recovery time not expected to further delay UFC return

Jon Jones went back under the knife on Monday for elbow surgery, but he said his recovery isn’t expected to further delay his UFC return.

Originally scheduled to defend his heavyweight title this past November at UFC 295, Jones dropped out of his fight against Stipe Miocic after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in training. He had surgery to repair the damage done and plans to fight this summer once healthy.

Since Jones was already required to heal up his pectoral muscle, he opted to get some much-needed work on his elbow. He said his recovery and rehabilitation ultimately coincided with the time he already needed before he could fight.

“Back out here in California with Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache, this time instead of doing a pec repair, we are working on my left elbow,” Jones revealed on Instagram. “I’m actually about one hour off the table. We had a two-hour surgery shaving down some bone spurs. The good news is it’s about a 10-week healing process, and I’m out for months anyway, because of this pec surgery, so I thought I’d just kill two birds and get this elbow taken care of once and for all.

“I appreciate all the support. Your boy’s back in the sling, back on this recovery journey. Still on this recovery journey. Sometimes you have to take a small step back in order to move forward, and I’m patient. I appreciate you guys support, your love and your positive energy, and I will be back. Love you all.”

Dr. Neal ElAttrache is regarded as one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the world. He’s performed surgeries on numerous high-profile athletes, including UFC superstar Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Francis Ngannou, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, multi-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and baseball star Shohei Ohtani.

ElAttrache also performed the surgery to repair the torn pectoral muscle that Jones suffered in training.

Once healthy again, Jones is expected to defend his heavyweight title against former champion Stipe Miocic in a high-profile matchup after their previous fight was cancelled. In the mean time, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been banging the drum for his chance to skip over Miocic and face Jones, but UFC CEO Dana White has shot down that idea.

As of now, Jones hasn’t set an exact timetable for his return, but it’s expected he’ll be cleared to compete some time in mid-2024.