Dana White reiterated that Jon Jones was never under consideration to the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House in June.
The ongoing saga between Jones and UFC started when he said he was in negotiations for the White House card just days before it was announced. When it was announced, there was no Jones, and White was very clear after the fact that he never considered him and talks weren’t happening.Â
That prompted Jones to say that there were talks, he was lowballed, and wanted his release if the UFC really thinks he is done fighting.
And then prior to the Fight Night card in London on Saturday, Jones posted once more about talks to return, saying that he was willing and able to step in and face Alex Pereira on the card – who is fighting Ciryl Gane for the Interim Heavyweight title – but was not offered than $15 million and felt the fight was worth more.
So White was asked about that during the Fight Night press conference, and had far from changed his tune.
“Jon Jones was never fighting on the White House card. How many f***ing times have I got to say this?” White said. “He was never fighting on the White House card… There’s no way in hell I was putting him on the card, no matter what the money was. Jon Jones was never going to fight on the White House card.”
A fight for the White House card did fall through, and while it has not been expressly said which one it was, there had been some belief that a breakdown in talks with Jones led to Gane being put opposite Pereira.Â
Going against that belief is the ongoing dispute between Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev and Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria, with Topuria headlining the card with his Lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje, but accusing Makhachev of faking injury purely to avoid him.
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