‘Just Cut Me Now’: Former Champion Jon Jones Sounds Fed Up With UFC Negotiations For Ngannou Fight

It seems the path to Francis Ngannou’s first defense of the UFC title couldn’t be more clearly laid out. In August of last year, veteran light heavyweight champion Jon Jones made it clear that he was taking a step he had long scoffed at: a promotion to the heavyweight division.

‘Bones’ vacated his belt, made it to the weight room, and began to rack up the type of muscle he would likely need to become a true contender for heavyweight gold. And a few months later, Dana White seemingly cemented the whole idea when she publicly announced that Jones would face the winner of Miocic vs. Ngannou. After his title-winning victory, Ngannou even made the call himself.

“I think Jon Jones makes the most sense to me,” Ngannou said when asked about the possibility of re-matching Stipe Miocic in the post-fight presser at UFC 260, adding that he would nevertheless be fully willing to take on any fight in the UFC. puts in front of him.

If all parties want the same thing, then reaching an agreement should be as easy as one-two-three, right?

Apparently not.

As is often the case, it seems that money is the main obstacle to achieving combat. Jon Jones is seeking a significant salary increase for taking what, in his opinion, is a significant risk to his career. And the UFC seems not to have it. To the point where Dana White even now claims that Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou 2 is the fight to do, even though the former is one of the worst things the UFC has ever put on television.

It’s unclear how far Jones and the UFC are on money, but whatever the differences, they seem to have driven Jackson-Wink’s talent to despair. Jones posted a spiel on Twitter (quickly deleted) on Monday, March 29, asking the UFC to terminate his contract rather than continue to force him.

Shortly after deleting those Tweets, Jones returned to Twitter with another barrage, once again seeking his release from the UFC.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Jones’ interest in a heavyweight move has prompted him to seek a way out of the promotion. In May 2020, Jones compared his fighting portfolios to heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder’s, and said he doesn’t even win half a fight. “Just go ahead and release me from my UFC contract completely. I’m sure some promoter somewhere will be more than happy to pick me up, ”Jones wrote at the time.

For now, the UFC seems content to honor Jones’ contract and wait for him to fight on its terms. Hopefully the two sides can find enough common ground for Jones vs. Ngannou happen. If not, Derrick Lewis better start preparing for his second shot at UFC gold.