Dana White Says Jon Jones Lost $15-20 Million, May Never Be The Same
After his troubles with the law in 2015, fans of Jon Jones hoped 2016 would be the year of his big comeback. Facing potential prison time for his part in the infamous New Mexico hit-and-run, “Bones” was eventually let off with a fine and community service. Returning at UFC 197 against Ovince Saint-Preux, Jones won the interim title with a decision victory. Daniel Cormier was the intended target for UFC 200, as their second rivalry looked to finally come to fruition. Talk of redemption and winning back the title that “DC” had taken in his absence fell to pieces during UFC 200 fight week for Jones.
USADA swooped in and snatched away Jones’ chance to face Cormier on July 9, announcing a failed dope screen and causing all kinds of havoc. “Bones” was scratched from the card just three days out, and the ramifications of that day are still being felt. During his arbitration hearing with the United States Anti Doping Agency, the troubled New Yorker laid the blame on what he called a ‘dick pill.’ The Agency didn’t take it too lightly, sending Jones to the sin bin with a year-long suspension.
More Waiting
Now fans of the Greg Jackson representative will have to wait a little longer. “DC” and his old rival Anthony Johnson will do the dance again at UFC 206, but outside of that fight the 205-pound division is dead in the water. Discussing Jon Jones while appearing on The Dan LeBatard Show, as quoted by MMAFighting, UFC president Dana White laments on “Bones” and his latest bout of woes:
“Yeah, he’s definitely one of the guy’s who could have gone down as one of the greatest ever. If you look at all the time he’s been out, he probably would have defended the title a few times. He might be fighting at heavyweight right now, who knows, but, hey man…when you do what this guy has done, you’ve got to pay the price.
“We’ve lost a lot of money, left a lot of money on the table and obviously his legacy is…I’ll tell you this, too…in the history of combat sports, nobody’s ever taken this much time off and come back and looked like they did when they were younger. Even [Muhammad] Ali. So it’s going to be interesting.”
Heavyweight & Money
After pointing out the fact Jon Jones may have wasted is best years, White also discussed the possibility of Jones fighting at heavyweight. During his reign as champion “Bones” had often spoke about facing Cain Velasquez. The UFC president also estimates a significant monetary loss on the part of Jones after his time away:
“I mean, if he moved up to heavyweight and fought for the heavyweight championship, it could have been massive. It could be anywhere from $15-20 million.”
“I think because everybody looks at Jon Jones as the guy who was probably the best ever to do it. And the potential that he had. Who knows what fights we missed or what could have been because of all this madness.”
