The rumors are true: Jon Jones turned down a $30 million offer.
For months now, there’s been speculation and insider reports regarding what went wrong in booking Jones’ second Heavyweight title defense versus then-interim champion Tom Aspinall
. After reports that the deal was agreed and Jones vs. Aspinall was simply awaiting a date, “Bones” suddenly retired, and Aspinall was promoted to undisputed gold.The English fighter was upset about all his time wasted, while fans were mostly confused. Before
long, the prevailing — but unconfirmed — story unfolded that Jones named his price of $30 million, received the offer, and then opted to retire rather than fight Aspinall. Though the retirement didn’t stick for more than a couple weeks, Jones is now admitting that’s exactly what happened.
“Some of my motivations aren’t traditional anymore,” Jones said on Geoffrey Woo’s podcast (via MMA Junkie). “I don’t think I care about what most fighters would care about. Most fighters wouldn’t turn down $30 million. They just wouldn’t do that. My goals are different than other people’s these days.”
Despite a strong fan demand to face Aspinall, “Bones” continues to claim the fight just doesn’t interest him. He doesn’t believe in Aspinall’s staying power and has repeatedly insulted the champion for “quitting” in his knee injury loss to Curtis Blaydes and recent eye poke “No Contest” opposite Ciryl Gane. Jones much prefers the Alex Pereira fight, as “Poatan” has been able to establish himself a major brand beyond just the title.
“Pereira, literally, some of the only things he says is, ‘Chama,'” Jones explained. “And people are (yelling), ‘Chama!’ No one even knows what it means, but he has that ‘it’ factor. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to compete against Pereira. I felt as if the brand that he represents and the energy that he has behind him will be remembered more than just five years from now.
“For example, Aspinall just had a close fight, and people are already writing him off. His journey hasn’t even started yet and he’s already almost moved on. I feel like Pereria, fighting a guy like that, it would just bring so much more to the table for me.”
Unfortunately for Jones, UFC CEO Dana White was soured by the whole exchange. “Bones” is outright begging for a UFC White House opportunity, yet White is extremely reluctant to grant him that opportunity given how the Aspinall negotiations fell apart. Regardless of his reasoning, Jones’ decision may end up costing him more than the planned $30 million in the longer run.
It could keep him off the biggest card in UFC history.
