1 month ago
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Jon Jones turned down a purse offer of $30million to fight Tom Aspinall, an MMA expert has claimed.
UFC chief Dana White revealed last month that Jones has retired from the promotion in a bombshell announcement. Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, was the company's undisputed heavyweight champion but his title has now been passed to Aspinall.
White made the announcement in an explosive press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he revealed Jones called on to inform him and UFC officials that he would not be fighting again.
Jones then posted a lengthy statement on social media, after fans had long accused him of dodging a fight with Aspinall, which was long billed as the bout everyone wanted to see in the heavyweight division.
Jones, who ended his career with a 28-1 career record, won the vacant heavyweight title in March 2023. But the 38-year-old did not fight since defeating Stipe Miocic in November. Aspinall held the interim belt for 18 months but a unification fight between the two did not materialise.
Now, it has emerged that Jones reportedly turned down mega money for the fight before opting to call it a day.
The huge payday Jon Jones turned down to fight Tom Aspinall has seemingly been revealed
Aspinall had been looking to fight Jones in one of the biggest heavyweight clashes in UFC history
Dana White, though, revealed in June that Jones had called him to instead retire in a shock announcement
'I think he didn't want to fight him,' Ariel Helwani said on Impaulsive. 'I think it was a calculated decision on his part.
'Why did you drag this out all the way until June when you knew you weren't going to fight him? He gave the UFC a number. I believe it's in the $30 million range for this fight. And by the way, I think he deserves it.
'He didn't think they would come up with the number, and they did. I believe Saudi Arabia was involved. The big dogs were involved. He said yes, and then two days later he said, "Nah, on second thought, I'm out". I think he was hoping they would not meet the number and he could go, "Hey guys, I tried".'
White previously said that Jones had agreed to fight Aspinall but they were awaiting paperwork.
But his patience was wearing thin with the American and White set a deadline for the star to arrange the fight, which White described as the 'biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history'.
