Jones says White lied about 'absurd' money request: 'Absolute bullshit'
Jon Jones says UFC president Dana White lied about the light heavyweight champion asking for an "absurd amount of money" to move up a weight class and fight top heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou.
Jones said Thursday night in a series of tweets that during the negotiations, he didn't even ask for a specific amount before the promotion told him it wouldn't pay him more than usual.
"It’s interesting to just sit here and watch your boss lie to the camera like this," Jones wrote. "We never discussed any increase in pay. Immediately the conversation was that I already made enough. I never made a number offer."
In another tweet, Jones asked White to "at least have the decency to be honest with the fans." The 32-year-old said he was already disappointed that the Ngannou fight got shut down, and White not telling the truth added "salt to the wound."
I was over the situation, but I’m not gonna sit back and allow Dana to lie to the fans. I never asked for an absurd amount of money. That’s bullshit
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 29, 2020
Absolute bullshit
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 29, 2020
I’m not going to give up hope the way I’m taking this whole thing is @Ufc don’t want to budget the Jon Jones heavyweight move up right now. They should’ve just said that, lying on me and saying I asked for too much it’s just unfair. That was unnecessary.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 29, 2020
White said Thursday that the Jones-Ngannou superfight wouldn't happen unless the 205-pound titleholder was willing to agree to lower pay than he initially requested.
"For the amount of money (Jones) is asking for, it's not gonna happen," White said.
Earlier in May, Jones and Ngannou said they were interested in fighting each other. However, "Bones" later revealed that negotiations with the UFC had hit a standstill and expressed frustration with the promotion.