5 champions who found themselves at loggerheads with the UFC
This month will see UFC 270 take place. In the main event of the show, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is set to defend against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane.
Incredibly, Francis Ngannou’s entire UFC career could be on the line this month, as he remains at loggerheads with the promotion. He could well walk away from MMA's biggest stage, depending on whether he defeats Gane.
UFC vs. Francis Ngannou: How champ's contract dispute looms over upcoming title fight #UFC270 mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/12/ufc-ne…
Unsurprisingly, Francis Ngannou isn’t the first reigning champion to end up at loggerheads with the UFC. We’ve seen a number of other titleholders square off with Dana White and company in the past for numerous reasons.
With that considered, here are five UFC champions who ended up at loggerheads with the promotion.
#5. Jon Jones – former UFC light heavyweight champion
One of the more recent examples of a UFC champion clashing with the promotion is Jon Jones, who held the UFC light heavyweight title on three occasions from 2011 to 2020.
One of the most dominant fighters in the history of MMA, Jones defeated opponents such as Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson and current champion Glover Teixeira during his runs with the title. However, he often found himself in spats with Dana White and other members of the UFC’s brass.
In his earliest days as light heavyweight kingpin, it felt like Jones could do nothing wrong. Some fans even suggested that he could become MMA’s equivalent of Floyd Mayweather or Tiger Woods.
However, cracks began to appear in 2012 when Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice, triggering the cancelation of UFC 151. White, in particular, was furious. He accused Jones of killing the sport and things were never quite the same between the two parties.
While Jones was able to stay onside with the UFC for the majority of the next decade following the incident, even despite multiple failed drug tests and legal issues, problems arose again in 2020 following Jones’ win over Dominick Reyes.
Jones professed a wish to move up to the heavyweight division, most notably for a clash with Francis Ngannou. However, he quickly became angry when the UFC apparently wouldn’t meet his financial demands.
I don’t even make half of half of what Diante Wilder makes. If my reputation causes you to undervalue me this much. Just go ahead and release me from my @Ufc contract altogether. I’m sure some promoter somewhere will be more than happy to pick me up.
The result was a nasty Twitter spat between Jones and White, which ended with ‘Bones’ on the sidelines for the whole of 2021. While cooler heads have supposedly prevailed since, Jones has still not returned to the octagon, nor have the UFC given a date for his next fight.