Jason Burgos
A new report offers a big update on why Jon Jones did not make it to the officially announced UFC White House card.
Last year, President Donald Trump broke the news that the UFC would make sports history by producing an event on the lawn of the White House for his birthday. From that moment, there has been a huge amount of speculation about which fights would take place on what will be the most important event in MMA history.
Two legends who wanted in on the event soon after it was announced were former two-division champions Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. However, over the last few weeks, either man competing on the lawn of the White House seemed very unlikely.
In the case of McGregor, as the most famous fighter in cage fighting history, reaching his standard pay in the new Paramount+ era without pay-per-views and the points he can get from it made competing in Washington, DC, impossible. That is why he is more likely to return in a rumored July PPV event.
Jon Jones record: 28-1 (11 knockouts, 7 submissions)
When it comes to “Bones,” UFC CEO Dana White did not hide the fact that he didn’t trust him to make it to fight night. Nevertheless, a report last week claimed that the company was in discussions with his representatives about a fight against fellow former two-division champ Alex Pereira at the June 14 event.
However, during the UFC 326 broadcast on Saturday night, the full lineup for the UFC White House card was announced, and Jones was not on it. Well, a new report has revealed why, and it apparently was Jones’ high asking price.
According to veteran MMA insider Ariel Helwani, while the UFC did try to make Pereira vs. Jones for June, they could not meet the 38-year-old’s asking price. Helwani claims that the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion was looking for something in the range of what boxer Connor Benn received in his one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing. Rumors claim that it is $15 million.
The MMA insider believes the failed discussions likely mean Jones is done as a UFC fighter since the promotion won’t be able to meet his current asking price.
