It could be a while until we see UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, fighting again. According to Jones, he isn’t interested in entering the UFC octagon again without receiving a pay rise.
Jones had his last fight back in February when he unanimously defeated Dominick Reyes to defend his belt. The 32-year-old planned to switch to heavyweight and face Francis Ngannou next, but the lucrative match ended up being axed by the UFC.
This didn’t sit well with Jones, who now said that he doesn’t want to fight until he gets paid.
“I don’t want to fight soon,” said Jones during an appearance on Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast. “I have no interest in fighting in the UFC until I get paid what I believe I’m worth.”
UFC President Dana White previously discussed Jones’ situation with the media, saying that Jones has outrageous demands for his next fight. According to White, the fighter asked for around $30 million.
While Jones didn’t reveal the number is aiming for, he hinted he would be willing to come down a bit and hopes UFC will “meet him halfway.”
“I think eventually the UFC will realize that they’re being stubborn, will realize that they have a special athlete in myself, and I think they’ll eventually meet me halfway,” he added.
Jon Jones is widely considered one of the best MMA fighters of all time. He successfully defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title stunning eleven times and has a career record of 26-1.
However, Jones never lost a fight as his only official loss came due to disqualification for using “illegal downward elbows” against Matt Hamill.
