Jones/White: A Bone To Pick

Negotiating contracts can be a very tiresome process for all parties involved in the realm of sports. For whatever reason, contract disputes tend to happen pretty frequently. From an athlete who is trying to negotiate his worth to an owner playing a bit more conservative or not matching said aggression when it comes to making a deal, a lot of boundaries could be broken, and many lines could be crossed. Have you ever tried to convince your boss that you felt like you deserved a raise or deserved to be paid a higher salary due to how good you are at your job? Well, if the answer is yes, then a lot of you would be able to relate to UFC star, Jon Jones. Jon Jones has been one of the best fighters in not only UFC history, but MMA history and even as far as to say in fighting period. Jones’ long frame having the longest reach in UFC history, unique striking, and all-around gifted mixed martial arts skills, Jones has one of the best résumés in combat sports right now. The light heavyweight has had outstanding performances inside the octagon with his memorable feud with former Lt. Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, his title victory over Mauricio ”Shogun” Rua becoming the youngest champion in UFC history, his submission victory over Lyoto Machida and many more. Jon Jones has faced and beaten some of the best fighters the world has ever seen Some may know about the past of Jones with his legal struggles and history of intoxication of drugs and alcohol. There have been a wide variety of people who wrote off Jones, feeling that he has tarnished his legacy and has damaged his career very badly. However, Jones can still use his incredible body of work to his advantage when discussing the salary for his next fight. The hype around this has been Jon Jones going back and forth with top UFC heavyweight, Francis ”The Predator” Ngannou. Ngannou is arguably UFC’s biggest power puncher. Known for his devastating power and insane one-punch KO ability, Ngannou has had key KO victories over Andrei Arlovski, Cain Velasquez, and Alistair Overeem. He even had a title fight against the current champion, Stipe Mocic. The social media tension between the two fighters has been intriguing, to say the least, given the circumstances of sports and given that the fans will get to see Jon Jones as a heavyweight and fighting someone with as much out worldly power Ngannou possesses. Would Ngannou win by KO? Would Jon Jones find a way to outsmart and outfight Ngannou? The possibilities are through the roof and so is the excitement. But pump the brakes. It’s been said that Jones is looking for a very big payday out of the fight as we were leading go discuss. UFC president, Dana White has said Jones was asking for ”Deontay Wilder money”, referring to what he got paid against Tyson Fury, 30 million dollars. Jon Jones went on a Twitter rant, accusing Dana White of lying and attacking Jones's character. Dana White, in turn, said he has text messages stating what Jones’s asking price was. Throughout the exchange between the two, Jon Jones has said he will be vacating his Lt. Heavyweight championship and has even asked for the release of his contract with the UFC. Now we wonder what the division will look like with its most dominant champion out of the picture, Dana White and how he will handle the situation, and will Ngannou go for his title rematch against Stipe due to the dimming chances of the super-fight being put on hold or never happening.