Former two-division champion and largely considered the greatest fighter of all time Jon Jones was left off the UFC 250 Freedom fight card planned for the White House in June. He came out of a short-lived retirement as soon as the announcement was made that the White House would host a UFC event.
Jones actively lobbied for the opportunity. UFC CEO Dana White stated early on that he would not put Jones on the White House fight card but UFC matchmakers reached out to Jones with potential matchups. Ultimately Jones was not chosen by the fight promotion to compete at the historic event.
Jones went public with his greivences and accused the UFC of ‘low balling’ with their offer. According to Jones, he cut his asking price in half but was denied. He also asked to be released from his contract.
UFC analyst, insider and former multiple-time title challenger Chael Sonnen weighed in on the situation and believes the fight promotion didn’t need “Bones.”
“Jon Jones did not choose to take less at the White House card. He chose to get nothing,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Terry Brands has a very famous saying, and Jon Jones would have heard it because Jon’s a wrestler. And it’s quite simply this. ‘If you can’t get what you want, you take the next best thing.
“And Jon came out and revealed that he was willing to take substantially less than he was going to get for the [Tom] Aspinall fight. He was willing to do the [Alex] Pereira fight for $15 million. And right there was a bit of a concern for me because the average fan is never going to see $15 million. So, when you come to the fans for help, they’re just not going to have any sympathy for you,” continued Sonnen.
“The UFC did not need Jon Jones. That is the biggest story of this entire thing. Look, the UFC has one version. Jon has a different version. Somebody is lying … But it doesn’t matter who. I mean, we don’t have to get to the bottom of this. The bottom of this is very simple. The UFC did not need Jon Jones. And there’s nothing rude or cruel about that.
“The UFC has many times wanted Jon Jones, when Jon Jones was even the champion of the world, but they couldn’t have him and we moved on seamlessly.”
