Rashad Evans out of UFC 205 bout with Tim Kennedy due to medical issue
Rashad Evans explains where Jon Jones went wrong in heavyweight contract negotiations with UFC
UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans explained where longtime rival Jon Jones went wrong with his heavyweight contract negotiations with the UFC.
Jones was the UFC light heavyweight champion this time last year, but he gave up his 205lbs belt last summer in order to make the planned move up to heavyweight in 2021. Jones has spent the better part of the last year bulking up and putting on size for his move up to the UFC’s heaviest weight class, and the promotion hinted he would be next in line to fight the winner of the UFC 260 main event between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. However, after Ngannou knocked Miocic out to take home the title, UFC president Dana White insinuated that Jones was scared to fight him.
Speaking to James Lynch and Kendrick Johnson on the “1, 2 Podcast,” Evans — the UFC legend who had a high-profile fight with Jones, his former teammate, at UFC 245 in 2012 — explained where Jones went wrong with his negotiations with the promotion. According to Evans, Jones gave up all his negotiating power by already putting on the weight to go to heavyweight.
"It seems kind of backwards for him to say now show me the money" 💰💰
Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) on the hurdles involved in potential Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight
Full interview https://t.co/SJL5K8SCL2 pic.twitter.com/Pd9j4CBdoi
— James Lynch (@LynchOnSports) March 29, 2021
“Jon Jones has already put himself in the position where he doesn’t have the negotiating tools. He’s given up the belt at 205lbs, he’s already put on a ton of weight, a ton of size to fight at heavyweight. So right now, if I was Jon’s team, that was something you kind of negotiate before you give up the belt and before you decide to make all these changes in your diet. I mean, to me it seems kind of backwards for him to now say, ‘Show me the Money.’ Show me the money was when he was the 205lbs champion and then he decided to go up. I don’t know, maybe sometimes Jon just doesn’t say the best things, you know what I’m saying? But hopefully, that fight gets done,” Evans said.
Do you agree with Rashad Evans about Jon Jones?
