5 reasons Jon Jones may be a spent force in the UFC

Jon Jones proved he was special way back when he defeated Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua to become the youngest champion in the UFC at the age of 23. Since then, the argument for 'Bones' being the greatest fighter to ever compete in the UFC has just kept on getting stronger.

The future hall-of-famer has an all-time great resume with wins over UFC legends like Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Anthony Johnson, Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson, Chael Sonnen and Glover Teixeira.

But lately, Jones seems to be walking on thin ice as his reputation with the UFC seems to be wearing thin.

Here is a list of five reasons why Jon Jones might be a spent force in the UFC:

#5 Rocky Negotiations

I never discussed wanting 30 million with you or Hunter @danawhite just wondering where you heard that number? Is someone speaking with you on my behalf or...
— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 23, 2021

Jon Jones recently went back and forth with UFC authorities on Twitter. He made the above tweet in response to UFC president Dana White's claim that the former light heavyweight champion wanted $30 million dollars to fight Francis Ngannou.

'Bones' said that he feels disrespected that he's not getting his quoted price even after being at the top of his division for so many years.

I’ve been fighting my whole adult life, this shit just don’t feel right when you feel undervalued. It’s not an issue of wanting to fight. It’s an issue of wanting to be paid better. Let’s make that clear https://t.co/gVJhWo9seN
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2021

I’ve been talking about getting paid more for over a year now, has nothing to do with France is winning the belt. I fear no man, i’ve been beating up on heavy weight since I was a skinny kid. Gain all this size and strength just to suddenly be afraid? Sure let’s switch narrative
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2021

I always hear about how much the company is growing yet one year later I find myself in the same spot. I put in the work, I’ve done my part. I have completely transformed myself and now I meet a brick wall.. how discouraging
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2021

UFC believes that Jones is being unreasonable with his asking price. So, it seems that Jones might not have the pull or power today that he used to have a couple of years ago as a champion.

#4 Jon Jones' recent inactivity

Honestly I feel like the only people that it benefits, me jumping in their early are the other heavy weights. The way I’m training, I’m gonna be a real problem this time next year. I’m comfortable enough to wait and that’s exactly what I’ll do
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 25, 2021

As big a name as Jon Jones is in the UFC, things move really fast in the MMA world. Jones' last fight was against Dominick Reyes in February 2020. Since then, a new light heavyweight champion has been crowned in Jan Blachowicz, who has even defended the belt once since Jones' last fight.

According to Jones' tweets, he will not be entering the octagon in 2021 either. This might cause many MMA fans to lose the hype that is currently surrounding him and Ngannou.

Honestly I feel like the only people that it benefits, me jumping in their early are the other heavy weights. The way I’m training, I’m gonna be a real problem this time next year. I’m comfortable enough to wait and that’s exactly what I’ll do
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 25, 2021

'Bones' is confident that he will still be relevant in 2022 but MMA fans may not stick around for that long.

#3 Jon Jones' recent fights in the UFC

Jon Jones has not looked too good inside the octagon lately. His last two fights against Reyes and Thiago Santos were razor close.

Santos, who was being considered a cake-walk for 'Bones', even won the fight against Jones, according to one judge's scorecard.

A lot of people also believe that Reyes won the fight against Jones. So it may seem that the former light heavyweight champion may be past his prime.

#2 Tough Competition at Heavyweight

The road is only going to get rougher for 'Bones' as he makes the transition to the heavyweight division.

Jon Jones, who has struggled in his last two bouts, will now potentially face opponents like Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis, all of whom are much stronger and hit way harder than the fighters at light heavyweight.

A brutal KO loss, a real possibility at heavyweight, could cause a huge dent in Jones' popularity.

#1 UFC moving on from the Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou fight

The biggest sign that Jon Jones may soon become irrelevant is that despite having the potential to be the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, Dana White has decided to move on from the Jones vs Ngannou dream matchup.

That is not all. Earlier, it was being said that the winner of Ngannou vs Lewis will face Jones next. But White recently came out and said that they are looking at Stipe Miocic as the next challenger to the UFC heavyweight title.

With this announcement, the UFC has indicated that they are not going to wait for Jones and do not have any intention of paying him his current asking price.

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