Jon Jones fires back at Dana White and the UFC while asking for his release

This past weekend, UFC Freedom 250 was announced for June 14th at The White House. As expected, there was a heavyweight title fight on the card, but much to the dismay of everyone waiting for the announcement, the heavyweight title fight didn’t feature Jon Jones (28-1, 1 NC).

For months, Dana White has hinted that Jon Jones wouldn’t be on The White House card. However, behind the scenes, match makers were negotiating with Jones’ team and the promotion was targeting him to headline the card against Alex Pereira. It’s the biggest fight the promotion could possibly make.

However, it became clear last week that the promotion and Jones wouldn’t come to a deal. The UFC ultimately pivoted to Ciryl Gane and they booked Ilia Topuria against Justin Gaethje for the undisputed lightweight title to headline the card.

Dana White was asked about it over the weekend and essentially reiterated that there was no chance that Jones was ever going to fight on the card. In addition, White said that it’s safe to say Jones’ career is done considering his physical condition with his hips.

UFC’s Jones Not Thrilled

Jones heard all this and wasn’t thrilled. He took to X this afternoon and requested his release from the promotion. You can view his entire statement below.

Hey everyone, I wanted to address Dana White’s comments from this past weekend, because the truth matters to me and the fans. Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return ? I was lowballed . Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight. So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready. I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC , the years, the title defenses, the fights , hearing that I’m “done” is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number. If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today. No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up. Bones out.

Jon Jones via X

By Daniel Cunningham

My name is Daniel, and I love MMA. My goal is provide the best possible coverage of the MMA ... More about Daniel Cunningham