Jon Jones reveals he wanted more than $15 million for UFC White House fight: 'Our fight was worth more'
· Yahoo Sports
Jon Jones revealed new details Saturday of his failed UFC negotiations for a potential White House fight. Writing in response to a fan on social media, the former two-division UFC champion said he requested "substantially less" than he had for a 2025 title fight against Tom Aspinall, but more than $15 million.
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Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani previously reported that Jones requested and was granted a $30 million purse for a 2025 heavyweight unification fight against Aspinall, however Jones changed his mind and declined.
Jones wrote Saturday that he was "ready, willing and physically able to step in" for a White House bout, but claimed UFC officials "wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m."
Jones added: "I felt like our fight was worth more."
was ready, willing and physically able to step in. I was willing to take substantially less than the Aspinall ask but they wouldn’t budge one dollar over $15m. I felt like our fight was worth more. https://t.co/u9ISd2bD07
— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) March 21, 2026
Jones, a 38-year-old legend who is widely recognized as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, campaigned hard for a bout against Alex Pereira on the upcoming White House card but was ultimately left on the outside looking in, with Pereira instead challenging Ciryl Gane for an interim UFC heavyweight belt at the June 14 event.
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Jones and UFC CEO Dana White appeared to have a bitter falling out following the announcement of the card's lineup, with White dismissively claiming that Jones was never "even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House," and that it was "very fair" in the his estimation to call Jones retired for good. In response, a furious Jones exploded on social media, repeatedly calling UFC's decision "so f***ing painful" and pleading with White to "make this make sense." Jones later demanded his release from the promotion and denounced the UFC boss for "going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true."
"If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today," Jones wrote on March 9. "No more spins, no more games."
The UFC's long-in-the-making White House card, which initially drew criticism for a lineup perceived to be underwhelming, is set to be a six-fight event headlined by a lightweight title unification between UFC champion Ilia Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje.