Getty Jon Jones reacts to his UFC heavyweight championship win over Ciryl Gane in 2023.
It is only nine weeks until UFC 300 but the big, pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas still lacks superstar power in its main event.
The two-weight UFC champion Jon Jones told Submission Radio on Friday that he even got a call from UFC’s Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell about competing atop the anniversary show, but turned down an offer to compete.
According to Jones, Campbell said: “‘Jon, I know it’s only nine weeks away but if there’s any chance you’re feeling up to it, man, it’d be awesome news for the community that you’re coming back and healdining one of the biggest events ever’.”
Jones said he was honored to get the call, but seemingly replied that he wasn’t ready.
“I’m getting up there in age and I only have a few more events left and I want to give those events my all and make sure that I come back 100 percent,” Jones said.
Jon Jones reveals that he was offered by the UFC to headline UFC 300 two days ago, but had to decline as he wouldn’t have been ready in time.
UFC Boss Dana White Scrambles To Add Firepower to The Show
The UFC boss Dana White told Heavy and other reporters Friday that the market-leading MMA firm is working on adding two more fights to the UFC 300 card.
“Who knows who’s going to be the UFC 300 headliner,” he said after the Power Slap 6 event in Las Vegas.
“It’s been interesting, I can tell you that,” White told us. “Because, obviously, we want to deliver.”
White said that a bout between the former two-time UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former pound-for-pound star Cody Garbrandt “is literally the first fight of the night.”
Here are other planned bouts for UFC 300:
- Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller — lightweight
- Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez — women’s strawweight
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes — featherweight
- Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison — women’s bantamweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage — middleweight
- Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling — featherweight
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic — light heavyweight
- Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan — lightweight
- Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway — lightweight
- Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan — women’s strawweight
“If you look at the card where it sits today,” White said, “every single fight could be a main event on a UFC Fight Night, or a pay-per-view.
“We’ve got two more fights [left] that we’ve got to put together — we’re working on it.”
Conor McGregor Linked With UFC 300 Comeback
Though Jones will be absent from the UFC 300 card, one superstar fighter who could appear is Conor McGregor.
The former two-weight UFC champion McGregor teased a return to the Octagon for that event in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
“McGregor on 300 seals the deal,” the Irishman said on January 26.
“I accept,” Chandler replied, alongside a handshake emoji. “See you soon.”
McGregor has long been linked with a bout against Michael Chandler.
It is a pairing that the UFC, or even the fighters, have yet to rule out for April 13 in Las Vegas.
It is unclear which fighters could be involved in the second fight that the UFC has left to plan for UFC 300.
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Jon Jones Said He Rejected UFC 300; Big Show Still Lacks Main Event