Jon Jones has shared some early negotiation details between himself and the UFC regarding a fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Jon Jones bore witness to the crowning of a new UFC heavyweight champion right alongside the rest of the world when Francis Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. We know this because as soon as the fight was over, one of his immediate tweets was “Show me the money.” This came before he and Dana White clashed heads about whether or not Jones really wanted the fight.
Jones ended his weekend tweeting spree by stating that the UFC would be sending him an offer this week. Based on Jones’s tweets Wednesday morning, a figure has not been proposed by the UFC yet, but the former light heavyweight king did disclose to the public what ballpark range will not cut it as a starting point for him to consider fighting Francis Ngannou.
“I had a brief phone meeting with UFC’s lawyer Hunter a few days ago. As of right now, I expressed to him that anywhere around eight to $10 million would be way too low for a fight of this magnitude. That’s all that has been discussed so far.”
Jon Jones Makes His Case For A Payday Well North Of $10 Million
Earlier today, it was reported that Jon Jones’s coach Mike Winkeljohn believed that $50 million would be a fair figure for the fight. It’s unclear if he meant $50 million per fighter or $50 million allocated for the competitors in total, but either way, $10 million falls far below that number. Winkeljohn was not speaking directly on behalf of Jones in that interview, but now that Jones has revealed that $10 million is too low, it is possible that he was being a voice for Jones indirectly and subtly after all.
Nevertheless, despite throwing a tantrum and asking for his UFC release mere days ago, Jones claims to be cautiously optimistic about the upcoming offer from the promotion.
“I’m supposed to be waiting for what their offer is going to be. Really hoping the numbers are nowhere near that low. I guess we will see what happens,” Jones tweeted.
“One thing I’m sure of, I’ve never had more people excited to see a fight than they are now. I literally can’t walk to my mail box without someone asking me about the fight.”
“I’ve been working my ass off for years, concussions, surgeries, fighting the toughest competition UFC had to offer throughout my 20s for right around $2 million per fight. I’m just trying to have my payday, the fight that all of us fighters believe is one day possible.”
Jon Jones would then once again point out a perceived double standard between himself and Conor McGregor before vowing not to let history repeat itself regarding his past treatment from the UFC.
“I tweeted show me the money and that evidently pissed off the boss. What a learning lesson. I feel like if Connor (sic) would’ve sent that same tweet there would have been whiskey night.”
“I believe I was grossly underpaid throughout my entire 20s. I’m not even here bitching about that. I just want to see the future done right.”
Jon Jones then went on to tweet about the massive potential this fight has. In fact, as of this writing, Jones is literally tweeting as we speak. After asking fans if the fight has the potential to be as big as Wilder vs. Fury, he expressed his belief that the bout could bring in hundreds of thousands of new fans to the sport and that a fight this historic and this epic doesn’t come around often.
Jones may have some very legitimate points, and it appears he is perhaps indirectly trying to make history of sorts by bringing boxing-level payouts to MMA for superfights, with himself being the chief beneficiary. Only time will tell if the promotion is receptive to his grand visions, however. Whatever the outcome, the UFC legend feels that this is a reward that’s well-deserved after years of achievement, sacrifice, and mistreatment.
What are your thoughts on Jon Jones’s statement that $10 million is too low for a fight against Francis Ngannou and his overall argument?
