The rhetoric between Dana White and Jon Jones continued on Saturday night after UFC on ESPN 9.
White and Jones are negotiating payment for “Bones” in a potential heavyweight bout with Francis Ngannou. White has suggested Jones is looking for a huge payday, comparable to what UFC pays Deontay Wilder. Jones, meanwhile, has suggested that is a lie, and has gone so far as to ask White to release the text messages to show it’s not true. After Jones’ most recent comments, White again addressed the negotiations. But he threw in a backhanded compliment of what Jones could have been: A LeBron James figure in MMA.
“I’m always looking at what Jon Jones could’ve been,” White said. “He could have been the LeBron (James) of this sport. He could have been that big.”
Because of failed drug tests and an arrest which have resulted in three suspensions, the UFC light heavyweight champion (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) has had a career fraught with controversy. And so the negotiations for this contract are complicated, with both side accusing the other of lying.
“What do you do?” White said Saturday night. “Who do you believe? It’s up to you guys. What the (expletive) would I lie for? What do I have to gain from lying about it? Why would I lie? It doesn’t matter. You know what I mean? Obviously, he’s fired up right now.”
Though Jones and White haven’t seemed to get along in recent years, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell has a positive relationship with Jones. Talks between Campbell and Jones have been positive, per White.
“They had a good talk. They had a good talk yesterday,” White said. “Those guys are tight. Jon Jones and I have always had this. … The stuff that’s he been through, to show up and think he basically (demanded) $15 million, or $20 million, or $30 million, it’s crazy. He can do whatever he wants to do. He can sit out. He can fight. He can do whatever.”
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