Breaking: Jon Jones bids adieu to UFC; vacates his light heavyweight title
It looks like our worst fears have come true. It might be the end of the "Jon Jones era" in the UFC. Due to a disagreement with UFC president Dana White regarding a pay-raise for his next fight, reigning light heavyweight champion and the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, Jon Jones has announced that he is vacating his title and most probably pulling out of his current contract with the promotion.
The champ has also stated that he isn't coming back until the promotion is willing to meet his demands for a new, better-paying contract for his next fight if there ever is one inside the Octagon again.
The rift between Jon Jones and the UFC started when Dana White outright rejected Jones' demands for a $30 million payday for a potential move to heavyweight where "Bones" would throw down against one of the deadliest knockout artists in the promotion, Francis Ngannou. Following White's statement, Jones took to Twitter to call out the UFC frontman, branding him a liar and asking him to reveal the text message where he allegedly asked for a $30 million payday to fight Ngannou.
At Saturday's UFC on ESPN 9 post-fight press conference, Dana White pulled no punches and said that though Jones is probably the greatest UFC fighter of all time, he certainly does not deserve as much money as he is demanding because he isn't marketable enough, courtesy his frequent run-ins with the law and controversies surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs.
Jon Jones voluntarily parts from his beloved light heavyweight gold
Jon Jones didn't take White's words kindly and dared the latter to release him from his current UFC contract. Following this, Jones himself tweeted and confirmed that he is indeed vacating the title and said that Dominick Reyes should now face Jan Blachowicz for the now-vacant light heavyweight belt.
As for Jones himself, the fighter said that he will consider a return to the UFC if Dana White is willing to pay him the desired amount for a superfight against the reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya sometime in 2021. Jones bid his title goodbye in style, using the Latin phrase Veni, Vidi, Vici meaning "I came, I saw, and I conquered".