Dana White responds to Jon Jones outburst. The pair have been at each other’s throats following the UFC president’s claim that “Bones” demanded an unreasonable sum of money.
Jon Jones released a series of tweets calling Dana White a liar. He claimed that he never demanded outrageous sums of money for his super-fight against Francis Ngannou. The 205-pound champion also went on to dare the UFC president to release him from his contract.
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At Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 9 post-fight news conference, White was asked about Jon Jones’ recent claims. White left the matter on the judgement of others. However, he did question what did he stand to gain by lying.
Dana White responds to Jon Jones outburst
“What do you do?” White said. “Who do you believe? It’s up to you guys. What the f*ck would I lie for? What do I have to gain from lying about it? Why would I lie? It doesn’t matter. You know what I mean? Obviously, he’s fired up right now.”
He then disclosed that his lawyer Hunter Campbell shared a great relationship with Jones before lamenting that he could have become just as big as LeBron James and only has himself to blame for it.
“(Jones) had a great talk yesterday with Hunter, my lawyer, who’s really close to Jon Jones and likes him,” White said. “They have a good relationship. They had a good talk yesterday. It is what it is. I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less, to be honest with you.
“… They had a good talk. They had a good talk yesterday. Those guys are tight. Jon Jones and I have always had this. I’m always looking at what Jon Jones could’ve been. He could have been the LeBron (James) of this sport. He could have been that big.”
“The stuff that’s he been through, to show up and think he basically (demanded) $15 million, or $20 million, or $30 million, it’s crazy. He can do whatever he wants to do, he can sit out, he can fight. He can do whatever. You know how this works. You guys know how I am. Jon Jones can say whatever he wants.”
You’ve done a very good job of tarnishing you
White also refuted Jones’ claims that he had tarnished his reputation.
“Being the greatest of all-time doesn’t mean you get $30 million,” White said. “Being able to sell (does). Jon Jones has done a lot of things to himself. In one of his tweets, he was saying I tarnished him. I tarnished you? You’ve done a very good job of tarnishing you. I haven’t done that.
White then went on to claim that Jones wasn’t very keen or willing to negotiate terms
“Hunter told him. You can come in and walk through the numbers. ‘I’ll walk you through the numbers.’ And he says, ‘I don’t give a f*ck what the numbers are. I want what I want, and that’s it.’ That’s not how life works. Why don’t you guys fly back and tell your boss, ‘F*ck what this company makes. This is what I want and you’re going to give it to me.’ See how that f*cking works out for you.”
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