Negotiation Tactic? Jon Jones Bids Farewell to Light Heavyweight Title

UFC 239 Jon Jones Rankings
Jon Jones Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

“Veni, vidi, vici.” I came, I saw, I conquered. That was the statement by Jon Jones in regards to the UFC light heavyweight title on Sunday.

How the UFC champ’s relationship with the promotion and its president, Dana White, deteriorated so quickly will be a question examined for some time. If Jones stays true to his word and relinquishes the 205lb title, that is.

Things took a very sudden, and public, turn for the worse after negotiations for a super-fight with heavyweight Francis Ngannou fell through about a week and a half back. Jones, taking to Twitter, let fans know that money was the sticking point — then announced that it was “red panty night” for the light heavyweight division.

However, things took a turn when Dana White claimed “Bones” had asked for Deontay Wilder money to fight Ngannou — in the range of $30 million dollars. What ensued was a he-said, she-said. White claimed to have texts proving Jones’ demand. Jones called for the UFC President to release those texts to the media.

To date, White has not done so. However, over the weekend, he bemoaned that Jones could have been the Lebron James of the UFC — only to allow his personal troubles to overshadow his accomplishments.

Jones, it seems, has had enough.

“Reyes vs Jan For the UFC light heavyweight championship of the world. As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them,” he wrote on Twitter. “Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight. Hopefully you guys will be willing to pay by then.”

A bout with Israel Adesanya is another super-fight that has been linked to Jones. However, Adesanya has just one title defense in his reign to date, and a lot of work to do at middleweight before any such fight is seriously considered.

“Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ,” he added. “To the light heavyweight title Veni, vidi, vici.”

I came, I saw, I conquered.