UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou sees where Jon Jones is coming from in terms of money demands.
Jon Jones made the MMA headlines over the weekend in typical fashion. The former perennial UFC light heavyweight titleholder is next line to challenge Francis Ngannou, but he’s only willing to do it for the right price.
Dana White may find those money demands to be absurd, but for the newly-crowned heavyweight champion, it’s a reasonable request to make.
“I believe that Jon Jones wants this fight,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “I believe he wants it to happen because it’s gonna be a massive fight, a mega-fight. Basically, one of the biggest. I mean, he’s been around so long, been the champ for a very long time. But I think this might be the biggest fight of his career. (Same as) mine.
“So I think he wants to put something like this on his legacy, on his resumé. So I truly believe he wants this fight to happen.
“As far as the numeration, yeah, he’s asking for money. He said, ‘Show me the money.’ But I think he makes sense. I think (for) a mega-fight, everyone likes to have a mega pay. (So do I). I want that fight, I would like to have a good pay. And every other fighter out there would like that.”
For “The Predator,” Jones will eventually sign on the dotted line once the UFC does its part in terms of compensation.
“There’s nothing irrational in this. Everything is just normal,” Ngannou said. “We are doing this in order to one day have a big payday. And when (the moment comes), you are like, ‘Okay, I wish I have what I want.’
“I believe in it, and ‘show the money,’ for me, proves that yes, he really wants (the fight). And if you ‘show the money,’ he’s gonna fight.”
As of now, “Bones” isn’t happy with the current negotiations and is once again asking the UFC to release him from his contract.