Jon Jones has hinted at what it’ll take for him to fight Francis Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title.
Jones has made it pretty clear in recent days that he’s in a pay dispute with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He believes he’s been underpaid throughout most of his time with the promotion, and now, he wants to make up for that.
Jon Jones goes after the big bucks
The fight against Ngannou has the potential to be the biggest event in UFC history. However, it may not even get off the ground if Jones isn’t given what he believes he deserves.
In boxing we’re used to seeing the biggest fighters being paid millions on a regular basis. Over in the UFC, that doesn’t tend to be the case outside of Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar.
During his latest string of tweets, Jones reaffirmed that the money side of things is what’s holding up the negotiations.
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.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 31, 2021
I just want respectable numbers, so that I don’t feel like a fool entering the biggest fight of my life.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 31, 2021
In saying that he wouldn’t fight Ngannou for $8-$10 million, Jones is confirming that he’d turn down one of the biggest payouts we’ve ever seen in the UFC.
Alas, the problem isn’t the figure, but more the “piece of the pie” that Jon would be receiving.
In terms of the bigger picture, this isn’t the first time a high level UFC fighter has been unhappy with their pay.
The media attention alone from this is bound to cause a conversation between the higher-ups at UFC, and it’s also going to get the minds of many competitors on the roster running.
Featured image credit: Getty