Dana White doubts Jon Jones wants to fight Ngannou; Jones tweets and deletes response

Early this year, Dana White confirmed that Jon Jones will fight the winner of UFC 260’s heavyweight title headliner between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. Now that the dust has cleared with “The Predator” as the new champion, the UFC president is doubtful that “Bones” will step up to the plate.

“If I’m Jon Jones and I’m home watching this fight, I’d start moving to ’85,” Dana White said during the UFC 260 post-fight presser.

“I could sit here all day and tell you what ‘show me the money means.’ I tell you guys this all time, you can say you want to fight somebody, but do you really want to?

“I promise you, we can all Derrick Lewis and one of these other heavyweights, and they want the fight. If Jon Jones wants the fight, Jon Jones knows he can get the fight. All he’s got to do is call and do it.”

Jones saw how everything went down on Saturday night. As the next lined up challenger, he seemed welcoming towards the idea at first. Then he changes his tune.

Here are his first few tweets, which have already been deleted.

The succession of tweets that followed showed Jones denying any insinuations that he’s scared to challenge the newly-minted champion. According to him, money is the real issue.

And here’s another one he ended up deleting.

Money demands were the supposed reason for Jones’ publicized beef with Dana White in May 2020. White claimed that Jones wanted “Deontay Wilder money” in the form of $30 million to fight Francis Ngannou. Jones then called Dana White a “f—ng liar” and asked to be released from his UFC contract.

From tenured champions to contenders, White has regularly dismissed those who try to negotiate for better pay as just fighters who “don’t want to fight.”