One of the UFC’s biggest stars, Jon “Bones” Jones, is still the UFC light heavyweight champion as per the promotion’s official website. It has not been officially confirmed that Bones has vacated his belt, and he is still listed on the official UFC rankings as the No. 1 active pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion.
On May 31, after days of publicly feuding with UFC president Dana White, Jones 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.”
After that tweet, a fan asked Jones if he was “revoking” his title, and the fighter replied: “Yes.”
Bones then tweeted: “Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ,” as well as “To the light heavyweight title Veni, vidi, vici.”
Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ 🤙🏾
White and Jones are at odds over botched negotiations. Bones was campaigning to move up to the heavyweight division to fight Francis Ngannou, however, he couldn’t reach a monetary agreement with the UFC president. White went as far as to call Jones’ demands “absurd” and that the champion was asking for “Deontay Wilder money.” Jones denies White’s remarks.
In a recent interview, Dana White gave some clarity on the situation between the two men. Read on to read what the UFC president said.
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Dana White Says That He & Jones Will ‘Figure it Out’
On Wednesday, White appeared on an episode of boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s podcast called Hearn & Bellew: Talk the Talk, which can be watched above. During the podcast, although White did not directly speak about the light heavyweight belt, he said that Bones was a partner of the UFC and that they’ll “get tired of fighting” and “figure it out.” He said (as transcribed by MMA Fighting):
You’re not always going to agree on everything. Jon Jones and I do not agree on something right now. We’re having a disagreement, but Jon Jones is a partner in this business. Conor McGregor is a partner in this business. The list goes on and on. When you get to that level, when you become a star or a world champion like these guys are, they’re a partner.
White continued, “We don’t agree right now on things, and we’re going to fight and we say things, the thing that’s going on in public, and eventually you get to a point where you get tired of fighting and you figure it out. It’s like any other relationship.”
“The way that it works in the UFC, these guys that become these big stars, become partners,” the UFC president said. “They become partners in the pay-per-view and selling the pay-per-view. That’s how we all make money.
White said: “But every one of those guys that you mentioned from the Chuck Liddells to the Anderson Silvas to the Georges St-Pierres to the Jon Joneses, Ronda Rousey, they all brought something different to the table.”
Since Jones tweeted that he was vacating his belt, he has not spoken publicly about the situation.
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Did Jon Jones Vacate Belt? UFC President Dana White Gives Update