Jon Jones is finally happy with his paycheck from the UFC.
For years Jon Jones was one of the best fighters in the world. He ruled the UFC light heavyweight division for a long time and although he was at the top of his game he continued to butt heads with the UFC over pay. It got so bad at one point that Jones decided to relinquish his belt and take some time off from fighting. At that time he was in talks about a possible fight with Francis Ngannou and wanted to be compensated accordingly. The fight would need to take place at heavyweight and Jones felt a bump up in pay and a new contract would be needed.
It took nearly three years for Jones to get the contract he wanted but now is happy with where he is at. The same cannot be said for all UFC fighters and the topic of fighter pay has been at the forefront of many conversations in the fighter world since Jones left the sport. Jake Paul is a huge advocate for fighters being paid well and he has called out Dana White and the UFC for failing to do so in the past. Now Jones is giving some advice to young fighters on how to get paid what they want.
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Jon Jones says fighters are paid what they earn and young athletes should stick with it
Jones has a new contract and his time away seems to have paid off in more ways than one. He is set to make his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the title. It does not work out this way for everyone unfortunately, Ngannou left the UFC after failing to come to an agreement with the UFC brass. Jones feels that he has paid his dues and urges young fighters to continue to work towards their goals. He spoke bout this in an interview with Sporting News.
“I’m very happy with the UFC, obviously, we have a lot to work on as an organization, there’s a lot of fighters who aren’t happy. But I’m happy,” he said about fighter pay. “This may sound a little cold, but in life, you get what you earn. That’s just how it is, you know what I mean? And I feel like I’ve committed my whole life to the sport and finally, I feel like I’m getting what I’ve earned and I just want to encourage the younger fighters, the guys who aren’t happy right now, to just keep working and keep grinding and take it day by day, take it year after year and eventually you’ll you can’t be denied.”
Jones took a look at other’s situations, people who have found a way to get paid even if that is not by going through the UFC.
“I went the majority of my career not happy with my pay, but I stayed at it. I stayed vigilant I stayed faithful to the project and to the goals and now I am happy,” he said. “So it’s possible, look at Francis’s situation. He just, you know, he’s boxing, he’s finding a way for himself. You know, Jake Paul came out of nowhere and Conor McGregor came from rags to riches and the list goes on and on. The UFC has changed a lot of people’s lives for the better.”
Jones recently signed an eight-fight deal with the UFC that made him the second-highest fighter in the organization. His first fight on the new contract is this heavyweight title fight against Gane at UFC 285 this Saturday night in Las Vegas, NV.
