It is safe to say that the relationship between Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) and the UFC is not in a good place. Last summer, there was a very public spat between Jones and the promotion regarding his pay.
Jones wanted more money to move up to heavyweight and the UFC wanted to keep him on his current deal. Jones said he would just sit out until he was given an offer that he was satisfied with.
Over the past few months, it appeared that Jones and the UFC had mended their issues. Dana White even said that he was on good speaking terms with Jones and that Jones was excited about his move to heavyweight.
In the buildup to UFC 260, White kept saying that Jones would be facing the winner. However, things drastically turned on Saturday night after the PPV. Jones tweeted out saying, “Show me the money,” and that didn’t sit well with Dana White.
At the post-fight press conference, White essentially said tweeting that is a way of saying you don’t want the fight. Of course, this didn’t sit well with the former UFC light heavyweight champion who fired back on Twitter.
Jones said yesterday that the UFC was going to send him an offer this week to face the new heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou (16-3). Bones took to Twitter today to voice his frustrations so it’s safe to say he’s not happy with the offer.
https://twitter.com/JonnyBones/status/1376588604844122113
https://twitter.com/JonnyBones/status/1376588756556247041
What’s next for the UFC and Jones
As mentioned, this problem is the same thing that we were dealing with last summer with Jones and the UFC. There is clearly a problem with what the promotion is offering and what Jon Jones wants financially.
Jones has kept the same stance all along and I was under the impression that the offers were fixed given comments in recent months. However, it now appears that nothing has really changed.
From here, I’m anticipating there being more back and forth between Jones and the UFC. The UFC has already said that they would pivot to Derrick Lewis if they cannot finalize the matchup. This situation will definitely be one to watch over the next few days.