UFC star Jon Jones has officially given up his light heavyweight title in a move that could potentially see arguably the promotion's biggest star move up to heavyweight.
The former light heavyweight champion has been eagerly updating fans about his current status in the UFC on Tuesday morning, firstly posting the news about relinquishing the 205-pound belt.
"Just got off the phone with @ufc, today I confirm that I'm vacating the light heavyweight championship," Jones wrote on Twitter. "It's officially up for grabs. It's been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, UFC and most importantly you fans."
https://twitter.com/JonnyBones/status/1295465516262334465?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwJones had been in conversations with UFC president Dana White defending his belt but both sides were at an impasse about contract money, with Jones wanting more from the company amid claims he would sit out until his demands were met.
The last time Jones competed was at UFC 247 in February when he scored a somewhat controversial decision win over Dominick Reyes. There was talk of a rematch between the two before Jones turned his attention to a move to heavyweight to fight Francis Ngannou.
The UFC was reluctant to pay up to the $US30 million Jones reportedly demanded to move up in weight to fight the Nigerian star.
That idea caused tension between Jones and White, with the fighter calling for more money to move up in weight. But the company denied his request with Jones opting to sit out unless the UFC changed its stance.
After Stipe Miocic's heavyweight title defense against Daniel Cormier on Sunday, it appears a Jones v Miocic clash at heavyweight could be gaining steam.
And not long after announcing he'll be relinquishing his light-heavyweight belt, he took to Twitter again a couple of hours later to state some headway had been made with his negotiations with the company.
https://twitter.com/JonnyBones/status/1295489623662059520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"Just had a really positive conversation with UFC," Jones wrote. "Sounds like there will be negotiations for my next fight at heavy weight. All good news, the weight gaining process begins.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/news/ufc-jon-jones-drops-light-heavyweight-title/f929df06-ab0d-4c48-91b5-69bf5f3cd3bd
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