Jon Jones’ new advisor Richard Schaefer is optimistic about turning the Francis Ngannou fight into a reality.
Jon Jones’ newly-appointed advisor Richard Schaefer believes he could turn the Francis Ngannou fight into a reality.
The former Golden Boy Promotions CEO recently spoke with SiriusXM to make a case for himself. The first thing he brought up is his experience. To his credit, Schaefer helped broker some of the most high-profile matchups in boxing’s recent history.
“Dana and me have a great relationship … it’s really a matter of finding some common ground.“ Richard Schafer outlines his goal of having Jones-NGannou come to fruition and how his knowledge of the PPV business can help @RJcliffordMMA @DinThomas
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— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) May 27, 2021
I think I understand the pay-per-view business better than most. I know the different revenue streams probably better than most. Because again, I have done millions and millions and millions of pay-per-view buys, promoted some of the biggest pay-per-view events of all time. So I know what the different revenue sources are.
The next thing he brought up is his professional relationship with Dana White. The UFC president did give his props to Schaefer upon the announcement of the new partnership with Jones.
Dana and me have a great relationship. We respect each other, we’ve known each other for a long time. And I think you saw that yesterday in his comments, as well. I respect him, he respects me. I know the pay-per-view business as good as probably anyone, so does he.
I have one task, which is to deliver to Jon that fight. And I’m gonna do whatever I can to do that based on my experience and based on my great relationship with Dana and see if it will turn out into what I think can be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event of all-time.
For Schaefer, the idea is to come up with a deal that will, at the very least, be acceptable to all parties involved.
It’s really a matter of finding some common ground. So we will be meeting soon and see if we can structure a deal, which everybody can live with. It’s probably, you know, at that level… fast-paced, in my experience in the boxing days when I did the Mayweather fights, Canelo fights, and so on.
The best deals are usually those where nobody is really happy with, but everybody can live with. And that’s really what I’m gonna try to do.
From his end, Jones is perfectly fine to sit out the rest of the year and return sometime in 2022, when the sport has grown “bigger than ever.”