UFC president Dana White and current light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones have been publicly feuding through media and Twitter over botched negotiations for Jones to move up to the heavyweight division.
After days of publicly arguing over Jones’ pay and value, Jones’ tweeted that he was vacating his light heavyweight strap.
To be clear, Jones has not officially vacated his title — he is still currently the UFC’s light heavyweight champion.
On Sunday, Bones tweeted, “#ESPN Reyes vs Jan For the UFC light heavyweight championship of the world. As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them. Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight. Hopefully you guys will be willing to pay by then.”
He also wrote: “Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ.”
On Monday, White responded to Jones’ vacating claim. The UFC president issued a statement to the Vancouver Courier saying that the decision of continuing to compete in the UFC is up to the light heavyweight champ.
The statement reads: “Jon Jones is one of the greatest to ever do it,” said White. “The decision he wants to make regarding his career is up to him. The reality is that he’s made enough money from fighting that he’s now in the position to retire and never work again in his life.”
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Since Saying He Was Vacating the Light Heavyweight Title, Bones Has Been Busy Helping in Downtown Albuquerque
For the past few days, cities all over the United States have had protests and riots stemming from the death of George Floyd. After Jones said he was vacating his light heavyweight strap on Sunday, he’s been active in downtown Albuquerque.
On Monday, a video of Bones went viral of him taking two residents’ spray paint cans away. The video was taken on Sunday night. In the caption of the video, Jones wrote:
Is this s**t even about George Floyd anymore?!? Why the f**k are you punk *ss teenagers destroying our cities!?? As a young black man trust me I’m frustrated as well but this is not the way, we are starting to make a bad situation worse. If you really got love for your city (505), protect your s**t. All you old heads need to speak up, call your young family members and tell them to come home tonight.
Here is the video:
On Monday, Jones & His Team Went Downtown to Help Clean Up From the Riots
On Monday afternoon, Jones posted a video and multiple pictures on Instagram of himself and his team cleaning up after businesses were damaged in downtown Albuquerque. In the caption, Bones wrote: “Lots of work to do out in the streets today men. If you’re a real one, call your boys and get to work.”
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Dana White Issues Statement About Jon Jones Possibly Vacating Belt