Jon Jones reacts to being poked in the eye by Alexander Gustafsson of Sweden during a Light Heavyweight titlebout during the UFC 232 event inside The Forum on December 29, 2018 in Inglewood, California. Jones defeated Gustafsson by KO. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
A pay dispute with UFC President Dana White has been shelving Jon Jones’ heavyweight debut
Jon Jones has been struggling to land an opponent ever since his move to the heavyweight division. The light-heavyweight king moved to the HW division in August 2020, after relinquishing his LHW title in a quest for bigger challenges.
He was expected to face Francis Ngannou, on his heavyweight debut.
But a fallout with UFC president Dana White due to a payment dispute, wherein White claimed that he demanded around $35 million for his fight against the Cameroonian, has led to the fight being handed to Derrick Lewis.
White then was willing to offer Jones a fight against Stipe Miocic, which Jones vehemently refused. And now, his heavyweight future is staring at uncertainty.
Forgotten UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold weighed in on the Jon Jones situation.
In an interview with Helen Yee, Rockhold stated that the UFC must pay a guy like Jones who is the UFC GOAT. He particularly didn’t seem happy with ‘Boxing Bums’ having a massive payday, whereas UFC stars didn’t.
“Considering the UFC is the most popular sport in the world, versus what these guys in boxing, fighting bums…$20 million plus, why is boxing able to pay so much, with such a little traction and audience…The UFC are not paying the fighters what they deserve. I think Jon Jones deserves it…Pay the man, especially for a fight like that.”
Despite Jones’ heavyweight debut in tatters, a fight against Francis Ngannou does seem inevitable. It is bound to happen some day.
In the same interview, Rockhold gave his opinion on Jon Jones in the heavyweight division.
He said that Jones would possibly beat everyone else in the HW division, but might have a tough time against the Cameroonian.
The former middleweight champion also revealed that he had sparred with Ngannou before, and that it didn’t go well.
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