‘Bones Out!’ — Jones Says He’s Vacating His Light Heavyweight Belt

Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Jon Jones may have just relinquished his light heavyweight title.

The longstanding GOAT contender has been feuding with UFC president Dana White over the past weeks regarding the potential pay for a superfight with Francis Ngannou. White has said Jones is demanding Deontay Wilder money … which sits somewhere around $30 million a fight. Jones says he never even got to a point where he could even discuss money before the UFC shut him down.

Each declaration from White to the press has led to Jones getting more and more agitated about the situation on Twitter, and now he’s claiming he has vacated his title.

“#ESPN Reyes vs Jan For the UFC light heavyweight championship of the world,” Jones wrote. “As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them. 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 fan asked him if he was giving up his title and Jones replied simply “Yes.”

“Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ,” he wrote after.

“To the light heavyweight title Veni, vidi, vici,” he wrote, which translated is ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.”

“Hurting yourself more than you are hurting the UFC Brother,” a fan wrote.

“I hurt myself every time I walk out there and take a punch to the head,” Jones replied. “and Not feel my pay is worth it anymore.”

Of course, Jones wouldn’t be the first fighter to make threats like this over fighter pay. Conor McGregor’s ‘Thanks for the cheese’ moment didn’t last very long, and the two sides came to an eventual agreement. Henry Cejudo, on the other hand, played the retirement card earlier in May and his resignation was accepted without a fight from the UFC, who seem to be in serious penny pinching mode when it comes to keeping fighter pay down at the moment.

We’ll have more as this story develops.