Jon Jones’s big announcement that was teased over the weekend may have just been revealed.
Sunday, Jones Jones sent out a tweet stating he would “give birth to something big.” No other clues were presented by Jonny Bones, and the MMA world was left to guess what it could be. Three days later, and it has been revealed that Jones has decided to hire successful businessman and prominent boxing executive Richard Schaefer to serve as an advisor.
Richard Schaefer is said to have brokered many major boxing matches over the last decade and a half and has served as the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions along with Oscar De La Hoya. In 2016, Schaefer founded his own boxing promotional organization, Ringstar Sports.
Jones issued the following statement regarding this newfound partnership:
“I have retained Richard Schaefer as my advisor,” Jones wrote on Instagram. “Richard has been in the combat space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest global pay-per-view events over that period. The likes of [Floyd] Mayweather, [Oscar] De La Hoya, Canelo [Alvarez], [Bernard] Hopkins, [Marco Antonio] Barrera and [Juan Manuel] Marquez have headlined the exciting events that Richard has produced. His knowledge and experience of the pay-per-view industry and combat sports are second to none.
“I am excited to embark on this next chapter of my career as I continue to cement my place in history as one of the greats with Richard as my advisor. I can’t wait to give my fans and the sport the fights they want to see.”
Schaefer also issued a statement in celebration of today’s big news:
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to work with such an amazing athlete and person like Jon Jones,” said Schaefer. “Jon is the gold standard of UFC and one of the greatest athletes to ever dominate his or her sport … I am looking forward to sitting down with [UFC president] Dana White and his team on behalf of Jon to put together the fights the fans want to see.”
Of course, we all know the fight that fans want to see next for Jon Jones, which is a superfight against current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jones recently split with his former management team of 11 years, First Round Management. That decision made way for this new relationship that fans will no doubt hope will bear the fruit of a Jones/Ngannou clash among other potential blockbusters for Jones in the years to come.
