Jon Jones walking away from fight with Francis Ngannou, UFC after 'unbelievable' negotiations
Jon Jones appears to have given up hope for a future bout with Francis Ngannou.
Jones, in a series of tweets Thursday, said he was in negotiations with the UFC about a future fight. Less than an hour later, things took a different turn.
The UFC wasn’t willing to pay him more to jump up to heavyweight for the fight against Ngannou, Jones said. So, he’s walking away.
At one point it even sounded like he was done fighting for good, though he later walked those comments back.
Currently in negotiation with @UFC as we speak
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020
unbelievable
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020
Before even discussing numbers, the UFC was unwilling to pay more for the Francis super fight / for me to move to heavyweight. Said I could possibly earn more in pay-per-view buys.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020
It’s been fun you guys, maybe I’ll see you all in a year or two.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020
Maybe when they’re ready to do better business I’ll come back, until then health fitness and family.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020
It’s unclear what specifically went down in those negotiations.
Jones walked his comments back several hours later. He also confirmed that a bout with Ngannou was officially off the table.
I’ve had some time to think about it and Im a lot less emotional. Just sad that the ufc doesn’t see my value against the scariest HW in the world. Jan I guess you’re next in line #badbusiness #shocked
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 22, 2020
No unfortunately they dropped it https://t.co/geLzOk8o3q
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 22, 2020
Jones and Ngannou have been feuding on Twitter this week about a potential fight. Jones, the light heavyweight champion, has talked about moving to heavyweight for years now. He even hinted at doing so for a fight against Stipe Miocic last year, but that never came to fruition.
Based on their conversations, both he and Ngannou appeared all in.
Hello Jonny are you still there? @JonnyBones pic.twitter.com/EWTVgai80X
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 19, 2020
First you can save the rest of your tongue pictures for your other homies and yes I’m right here, just waking up from watching that Derek Lewis fight again. You ain’t scaring nobody, I saw your heart. You’re a big old mouse, I’ll expose you https://t.co/F6FEcc4mGE
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 20, 2020
Ngannou is fresh off a win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249 earlier this month, which he secured 20 seconds into the bout with an early KO. It marked his fourth straight victory.
Jones also had a win under his belt this year, having defended his light heavyweight title by beating Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision at UFC 247 in February. The 32-year-old hasn’t lost in more than a decade, with the only smudge on his resume being a no-contest after testing positive for turinabol against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in 2017.
A fight between the two would be entertaining, to say the least.
Apparently, negotiations have gone south. It may be quite some time before that fight is locked down, if it happens at all.
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