Well, the Dana White and Jon Jones situation escalated quickly.
Over the last couple of weeks, the talks over Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou have stalled and the reigning Light Heavyweight Champion made it clear that money was the reasoning the match-up hasn’t been made official.
White has addressed the situation by stating that Jones was asking for an absurd amount of money akin to the total Deotay Wilder made in his fight against Tyson Fury:
"For the amount of money he's asking for, it's not going to happen," White told ESPN. "He couldn't be asking for a more absurd amount of money at a worse time."
White stated that he had text messages to prove his statement after Jones called him an outright lair, and quoted the amount the Light Heavyweight Champion was asking for:
“I’ll quote him on what he said, and he said I want what Deontay Wilder made against Tyson Fury,” White revealed.
White has yet to actually reveal the text messages and Jones has continuously denied making such claims to the point of actually relinquishing the 205-pound belt and hanging up the gloves for good:
While this does seem like a publicity stunt, MMA Fighting reports that their sources do confirm that Jones is actually serious about vacating the belt and calling it a career in the UFC. White has addressed Jones asking for his release and the UFC President states that the decision is up to the man himself:
“Jon Jones is one of the greatest to ever do it,” White said in the statement. “The decision he wants to make regarding his career is up to him. The reality is that he’s made enough money from fighting that he’s now in the position to retire and never work again in his life.”
Only time will time whether Jones will actually vacate the belt and walk away from the sport. As always, we’ll keep you updated if he does.