When Jon Jones returns at UFC 285, he will be the highest-paid heavyweight in UFC history.
It was revealed on Saturday that Jones will face Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut for the vacant title at UFC 285. The promotion is at stake in this huge bout, and “Bones” is getting paid for it, according to Jones’ manager, who also claims that he is now the highest-paid heavyweight in history.
“The UFC realizes that Jon Jones is the GOAT. He is a generational talent so they were very much interested in and very much open to working with us and coming to the conclusion of putting together a fair deal which we did here,” Richard Schaefer said on The MMA Hour about Jones’ new deal.
Manager Richard Schaefer says Jon Jones' UFC deal makes him "the highest paid heavyweight athlete" and "probably the second highest [paid] ever next to Conor McGregor" 💰 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/KKmh6PzVoM pic.twitter.com/JXdkhmIYq6
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 16, 2023
“That deal which we made for Jon, makes Jon in the history of the UFC, the highest-paid heavyweight athlete and overall, I think as Hunter mentioned to me, probably the second-highest ever to Conor McGregor. So, it was a long negotiation but it was not a hostile negotiation where both sides stuck their heels in. Both sides wanted to find a way and we found a way and here it is.”
Jon Jones renegotiated his UFC contract
Additionally, Schaefer claims that they renegotiated Jones’ contract rather than signing a new one because Jones still had eight fights left. Schaefer claims that although Dana White had stated that Jones had signed a new eight-fight contract, it was actually more of a reworking of the previous agreement.
Since defeating Dominick Reyes by decision at UFC 247 in February 2020, Jon Jones (26-1 with one no-contest) hasn’t competed. Prior to that, he defeated Anthony Smith by decision and Thiago Santos by split decision to make his first defence of the title since winning it back at UFC 282.
This is no surprise that Jon Jones is now the highest paid UFC heavyweight. With, a dominant heavyweight like Francis Ngannou gone, Jon Jones’ return will definitely spice things up.
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