Jon Jones calls for boxing and MMA fights with Mike Tyson: ‘Bro I’m trying to get paid’

Photo by Donald Kravitz/Getty Images

Jones is arguably the UFC GOAT, but does he have to call out a retired 53-year-old boxer so he can finally get big money?

Jon Jones has been a dominant force in the MMA scene, but somehow one of the UFC’s all-time greats wants his next challenge to be against a retired 53-year-old boxer.

The UFC light heavyweight champion called for fights against Mike Tyson on social media, saying he wants to have both boxing and MMA fights against the man over two decades older than him.

“@miketyson I’ll box you in the ring if you promise to give me a real fight in the octagon afterwards,” Jones wrote on Instagram. “And because I respect you so much, I promise I won’t break anything on you”

Jones, who has had very public issues about fighter pay and negotiations with the UFC recently, says he’s asking for a Tyson fight to finally earn more money. The UFC champion responded to one of the comments asking for a Dominick Reyes rematch instead, writing “Bro I’m trying to get paid. I’ve been beating no names for years.”

Interestingly enough, this entire conversation originally started with Tyson talking about the state of fighter pay in the UFC. Tyson never actually called out Jones, but he made a point to illustrate how MMA fighters have to step in to boxing to get big money.

“A UFC (fighter) will never be richer than a first class (boxer). To make a hundred million dollars, Conor (McGregor) had to fight Floyd (Mayweather)! Even if he fights Jon Jones, he’s not going to get that,” Tyson said on a live chat. “Jon Jones gotta fight me to make some super money.”

Apart from Jones and now Tyson, many other MMA fighters and stars have voiced out their concerns about fighter pay recently, asking for a better revenue share with the UFC.

It’s also not exactly a good look for the state of UFC fighter pay when Jones, who is arguably the greatest of all time, has to call out a retired 53-year-old from a different sport in order to get paid. There’s a good reason we don’t see Canelo Alvarez needing to call out Royce Gracie.