Jon Jones has spoken out after recent comments from Dana White about the planned UFC White House card.
White recently said that Jones was never going to headline the event. According to the UFC president, he even told Jones’ lawyer that a fight on that card would not happen.
🚨 Dana White says Jon Jones was NEVER going to fight on the White House card 😬
“Never gonna happen, EVER.” pic.twitter.com/epOO8ZqKER
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 8, 2026
Jones strongly disagrees with that version of events.
The former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion posted a long message online explaining that talks with the Ultimate Fighting Championship were active until just a few days ago. He claims his team was negotiating for the fight and that he was preparing to compete.
“Hey everyone, I wanted to address Dana White’s comments from this past weekend, because the truth matters to me and the fans,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.
“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight. So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready.”
Talks reportedly ended before the event lineup was finalized
For several weeks there was speculation that Jones could return in a big matchup. Some fans believed he might face Alex Pereira in a heavyweight bout.
Instead, the UFC later scheduled Pereira to meet Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title fight for the same event.
Jones says negotiations collapsed before anything became official. He also pushed back on the idea that injuries were the main reason he was not on the card.
White had mentioned that Jones could face serious hip problems in the future. Jones acknowledged the issue but said it has not stopped him from training or preparing for another fight.
Hey everyone, I wanted to address Dana White’s comments from this past weekend, because the truth matters to me and the fans.
Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for…— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) March 9, 2026
Jones asks UFC to release him from his contract
The disagreement with the UFC became more serious after Jones responded to public comments about his future.
He said if the promotion truly believes his career is over, then he would rather leave the organization completely.
“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right,” Jones said. “After everything I’ve given to the UFC , the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.
“If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today. No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up.”
Jones had previously announced his retirement when the UFC was discussing a heavyweight title unification fight against Tom Aspinall. Not long after that decision, he suggested he might return if he could compete on the White House card.
White quickly dismissed the idea at the time and said he did not trust Jones to headline such an important event.
Now the situation has become another public disagreement between Jones and the UFC leadership. For the moment, it remains unclear
