Jon Jones Hires New Advisor Richard Schaefer; Dana White Approves
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC president Dana White have been at odds over contract negotiations for months, but the two sides agree that Jones naming former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer as his new advisor is a great move.
Jones made the switch from First Round Management amidst ongoing contract disputes between “Bones” and the UFC as the former champion makes his move to heavyweight. Jones announced the change in advisement on his Twitter page on Wednesday.
“Richard has been in the combat space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest global Pay Per View events over that period,” Jones said in a Tweet. “I am excited to embark on this next chapter of my career and I can’t wait to give my fans and the sport the fights they want to see.”
Jones hasn’t fought in the UFC since his final light heavyweight title defense against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 last year. He was expected to compete for the UFC heavyweight title against champion Francis Ngannou before contract negotiations stalled. Ngannou is now planned to face top-contender Derrick Lewis later this year.
Shortly after receiving word of the news, White spoke with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about the Jones/Schaefer news and gave a glowing review of the partnership.
“I like Richard, I’ve known Richard for a long time and obviously, he built Golden Boy,” White told ESPN. “He built that company. He knows what he’s doing, he’s a smart guy. I like and respect him and if we can get something done we will.”
The Jones news comes just over 24 hours after alluding to potentially sitting out the rest of 2021 and returning to the UFC as a heavyweight sometime in 2022. Jones also recently got into a bit of a Twitter back-and-forth with former rival Chael Sonnen in regards to a tweet that Jones posted teasing a big comeback to the promotion.
The Jones-Schaefer partnership is sure to mark a new beginning for Jones’ relationship with the UFC, and eventually a return to the octagon. White seems to be open to working with Schaefer and Jones, which means only good news for fans of the sport.
What is your reaction to Jon Jones hiring former Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer as his new advisor? When will we see the return of “Bones”?
