Jon Jones and UFC are done with each other.
During UFC 326, the fighting promotion announced the lineup for UFC Freedom 250, the June 14 event at the White House. Jones was not on the card, with UFC opting instead for an interim heavyweight championship fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. In his press conference after the event, UFC president Dana White said Jones was never in consideration for the card.
“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys 100,000 times, was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” he said.
White later clarified that the matchmakers approached many fighters, including Jones, to gauge their interest in fighting on the card, but said they told his lawyers there was no chance it would happen.
He was also asked if it was safe to say the heavyweight is retired and would not fight again in UFC. “Yes,” he responded. “Very fair.”
Jones shared his thoughts Monday in a long post to X, contradicting White by saying that he was in negotiations for UFC Freedom 250.
“Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up,” he wrote. “My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.”
He also responded to White’s comments regarding his future with UFC.
“After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing,” he wrote. “Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number. If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today.”
Not the First Time
A gap in negotiations is not a first for the two parties. Jones retired in June 2025 after his financial demands were not met to fight Tom Aspinall, but re-entered the UFC’s drug testing pool shortly after in hopes of fighting at the White House.
In the event UFC grants his release, Jones could be set up for a big payday elsewhere. Francis Ngannou, who left UFC after not agreeing on a contract to fight Jones, would make the most sense as a potential opponent after being released by the PFL. He fueled rumors of such a fight Tuesday, responding to Jones’s tweet.
“Jonny boy, if you manage to get your freedom, then let me know,” he wrote. “You deserve that $30M+ after everything you’ve done for the sport, and they should be rolling out the RED CARPET for you.”
Ngannou will fight Philipe Lins in the co-main event of Netflix’s first MMA card on May 16. If the streaming giant seeks to continue with MMA, a fight between the pair makes a ton of sense.
UFC and Jones’s agency, First Round Management, could not be reached for comment.
‘We’re All Cattle’
Conor McGregor also weighed in on the White House card, saying he was in consideration to fight Michael Chandler at the event, but UFC ultimately decided against it to better maximize their revenue from his return.
“They don’t usually put me on UFC 200 or 300 or the Sphere,” he said in an interview. “They usually put me on UFC 201 or 301. The White House is going to hit no matter what. ‘Who the fuck gives a fuck who we put on it?’ And then wheel McGregor out for the second one so we double our economic take.”
He later discussed his frustrations with getting a fight scheduled, saying he has accepted every opponent UFC has proposed, but ultimately has to wait until the promotion wants to officially book him a fight.
“All these fighters, we’re all cattle,” he said. “I just happen to be free-range. I’m organic. I’m like wagyu walking around the fucking farm. So, I’m just waiting to be fucking wheeled out. Hopefully it’s coming soon. It’s looking like it is.”
