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I think it’s fair to say that Jon Jones did a pretty lousy job of negotiating with UFC.

That’s not to suggest “Bones” doesn’t deserve the payday he was asking for, but when it comes to subtle art of persuasion, calling your boss a liar and demanding an immediate release probably isn’t the surest path to success.

That’s why Jones is calling in the big guns.

“I have retained Richard Schaefer as my advisor,” Jones wrote on Twitter (transcribed by Damon Martin). “Richard has been in the combat sports space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest pay-per-view events over that period. The likes of [Floyd] Mayweather, [Oscar] De La Hoya, ‘Canelo’ [Alvarez], [Bernard] Hopkins, [Marco Antonio] Barrera and [Juan Manuel] Marquez have headlined exciting events that Richard has promoted and produced.”

Schaefer, former Golden Boy CEO, has an extensive background in both finance and real estate and has helped put together some of the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) cards in the history of the “sweet science.”

“His knowledge and experience of the pay-per-view industry and combat sports are second to none,” Jones continued. “I am excited to embark on this next chapter of my career as I continue to cement my place in history as one of the greats with Richard as my advisor. I can’t wait to give my fans and the sport the fights they want to see.”

Jones surrendered his light heavyweight title back in late 2020 and was expected to make his heavyweight debut against Francis Ngannou later this year; however, “Bones” was unable to find a middle ground when it came to negotiating a price tag.

Schaefer doesn’t sound too worried.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to work with such an amazing athlete and person like Jon Jones,” Schaeffer said. “Jon is the gold standard of UFC and one of the greatest athletes to ever dominate his or her respective sport. As he has proven time and again, there is no challenge too great or opponent too difficult… I am looking forward to sitting down with Dana White and his team on behalf of Jon to put together the fights the fans want to see.”

With Jones out of action for the remainder of the year, the promotion will send Ngannou into battle opposite top heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis, with the winner expected to defend against Stipe Miocic in early 2022.

Former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez has one piece of advice for Michael Chandler.

Former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez has experience fighting both men, and he isn’t liking Michael Chandler’s chances against Justin Gaethje. So much so that he wants Chandler to avoid taking a fight against “The Highlight.”

“I think Gaethje is a terrible match-up for him,” Alvarez recently told SunSport. “And I think he should probably stay away from Gaethje. That’s not a good match-up for him.

“But we’ll see, man. It’s really up to him and his desire. We’ll only know on fight night.”

Alvarez has a 2017 KO over Gaethje in the UFC, and has also gone 1-1 with Chandler in Bellator in 2011 and 2013.

Gaethje vs. Chandler is a matchup that the UFC is currently looking at, with company president Dana White expecting it to be a “fun fight.” Chandler already welcomed the idea, but it all depends on the timing. He also says the UFC tried to book the fight “a thousand times,” but it ended up falling through.

“Gaethje needs a dance partner, that’s for sure,” Chandler told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “I don’t know if he’s gonna want to wait as long as I need to wait, though. So, we’ll see what happens.

“I’m taking a little bit of time off. My health is my number one priority. Being a father and a husband, long-term longevity, that’s my number one priority. It’s no secret, I took some damage in that (Oliveira) fight, the fight ended, got finished.

“The name Justin Gaethje’s been thrown around a thousand times, he said no numerous times. I think the good thing is, and that’s actually what the UFC said, too. ‘Hey, now that you lost inside the UFC, maybe one of these guys will actually say yes to fight you.’”

Gaethje hasn’t fought since October at UFC 254 when he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission.

UFC President Dana White recently told the combat sports media that streaking strawweight sensation Mackenzie Dern was expected to face fellow 115-pound rising star Marina Rodriguez at some point over the next few months.

Then again, maybe not.

“There is nothing official on both sides, it was a suggestion,” Dern told Ag Fight (transcribed by Adam Martin). “After the fight with Nina (Nunes), Mick (Maynard) asked when I would like to fight and I said until August, because I want to fight three more times a year, so it would be a time that I could, of course without injuries. They offered Marina for July 31, in the main event. I was surprised because Marina had just fought five rounds with Michelle (Waterson) and I was amazed that she was ready. But then Mick said that she would do it only in September and I am open to fight before. If you want me to fight in July, hopefully it will be a main event and then September, it would be ideal.”

Rodriguez and Dern are ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

Dern (11-1), still just 28, is the winner of four straight, three of which ended by way of first-round submission. As for the 34 year-old Rodriguez (14-1-2), she’s coming off back-to-back wins over Amanda Ribas and Michelle Waterson.

Charles Oliveira likes being the betting underdog against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Despite holding multiple UFC records and being on a huge nine-fight win streak, newly-crowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is still somewhat of a dark horse at 155 pounds.

‘Do Bronx’ recently TKO’d Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to seize the lightweight throne, but that wasn’t enough to sway the odds in his favor against Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, who are set to collide in a trilogy bout at the upcoming, highly anticipated UFC 264 pay-per-view on July 10.

Oliveira has opened as the betting underdog against both men, but that suits him just fine, as the Brazilian is happy to continue to prove the doubters wrong.

“No, that makes me happy. I like being the underdog,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting when asked about being the underdog against Poirier and McGregor. “I go there and prove it. Brother, I’ve made history ever since I got in the UFC. Every time people said I couldn’t do something, I went there and proved them wrong. When they gave me someone and said they would knock me out, I proved them wrong,” Oliveira said. “Every time they said someone would knock me out, they ended up beat up on the feet and shooting for takedowns. I show my firepower, my knockout power. I’ll tell you this, being the underdog or ‘the man of the hour’ makes no difference to me. What matters is what you can do in there. Every time you get in there is 50-50 and whoever has the best strategy and is better prepared will win.”

Oliveira is expected to defend the lightweight title against the winner of Poirier vs. McGregor in late 2021.