Awkwarrrrd.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will be heading into Las Vegas this week for the promotion’s annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “Bones” is being honored alongside longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson for their epic five-round war atop the UFC 165 pay-per-view (PPV) event back in Sept. 2013.
So what happens if he runs into UFC President Dana White?
“If I see him, I’ll see him,” White told reporters at the latest “Contender Series” press conference (via MMA Fighting), insisting he has no plans (and likely no desire) to meet with Jones. “I think I know where he’s at. He said he’ll fight next year. I’m not pushing him to fight, if that’s what you’re asking me.”
Jones insists he only deals with Ari Emanuel, the promotion’s “real boss.”
Things got ugly (well, uglier) between Jones and White when “Bones” started asking for “Deontay Wilder money” to challenge Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title, a fight that later went to interim champion Ciryl Gane. UFC was content to let Jones surrender his 205-pound strap and toil away in limbo while both divisions soldiered on without him.