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Just a few hours after vacating his Light Heavyweight title and revealing that he’d be taking some time off due non-existent contract negotiations between he and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), things are suddenly looking up for Jon Jones.
The now-former 205-pound champion of the world posted on Twitter that he had another conversation with UFC officials earlier today (Mon., Aug. 17, 2020) about a move up to the 265-pound division.
One that could come with a big pay raise.
“Just had a really positive conversation with UFC,” wrote the pound-for-pound great on social media. “Sounds like there will be negotiations for my next fight at heavyweight. All good news, the weight gaining process begins.”
If you recall, Jones’ decision to vacate the strap stemmed for a stalemate he and the promotion had regarding a bump in pay to face current No. 1 Heavyweight contender, Francis Nganouu, later this year.
What ensued was a back-and-forth spat between Jones and UFC president Dana White. From Jones bashing White’s “greedy” ways, to Dana declaring “Bones” wanted “Deontay Wilder-type money” to pack on the pounds, things started getting out of hand between the two sides.
In the end, it seems cooler heads have prevailed and the UFC higher-ups will have talks with Jones’ management team in the coming weeks.
Current division champion, Stipe Miocic, will next face Francis Ngannou later this year. If Jones and UFC come to a financial agreement, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to see “Bones” face the winner in his debut at 265 pounds. After all, if anyone deserves an instant shot at the title in his first fight in a new division it’s Jones, since he has yet to suffer a “real loss” and dominated the 205-pound division to the tune of 11 title defenses over the course of a decade.
Speaking of which, Jones issued a challenge to any 205-pounder to earn six straight title defenses, stating that he would donate some hefty coin to a charity of his choice should he accomplish the feat.
“First light heavyweight to win six championships in a row I’ll pay $100,000 to whatever charity of their liking. I’ll be waiting.”