UFC fighter Jon Jones defeated Dominick Reyes in UFC 247 and defended his light heavyweight title. Now he is announcing a major change amid an ongoing dispute with Dana White. Jones tweeted on Sunday that he is revoking his light heavyweight title.
Jones drew attention on Sunday with a series of tweets about White and the UFC. He talked about wanting to earn a certain amount of money for a Superfight before saying that the commission should pit Dominick Reyes against Jan Blachowicz for the 205-pound belt. This was part of an ongoing back-and-forth between him and the UFC president about finances and led to fans asking if Jones is giving up his belt. He simply responded by saying “yes.”
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Sources say Jon Jones is serious about leaving the UFC light heavyweight title behind.
(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/npnjSAlly3
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 31, 2020
This public confrontation stems from a rumored financial dispute. There have been discussions about pitting Jones against Francis Ngannou. However, Jones and White could not come to terms on a contract, which led to the comments about each other during interviews and on social media.
“I’ll quote him and what he had said to my lawyer,” White said, per CBS Sports. “He told my lawyer he wants what Deontay Wilder was paid. I think it was $30 million was what Deontay Wilder was paid.” White later said that Jones was asking for an “absurd amount” of money at a “worse time” in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jones responded to White and said that he never asked for the $30 million and alleged that the UFC president had lied about him multiple times. This back-and-forth continued and led to a press conference where White answered questions about the situation. He said that Jones is “demanding” money and that being the greatest of all time does not mean that he gets $30 million because he “has to sell.”
“Jon Jones has done a lot of things to himself,” White said to reporters. “In one of his tweets, he’s saying that I tarnished him. I tarnished you? You’ve done a very good job of tarnishing you. I haven’t done that.” These comments referenced past legal issues from Jones’ career.
Jones saw this interview and responded strongly. He said that White was using his out of the cage affairs to justify underpaying him. Jones then called for White to release him from his UFC contract so he could sign with another promoter. White has not responded, but Jones is telling fans that he is revoking his title.
