UFC 260: Dana White tells Jon Jones we can make Francis Ngannou fight tonight as payday feud r

“If I’m Jon Jones and I’m home watching this fight, I start moving to ’85 [185 pounds],” White said jokingly in the post-fight press conference.

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

Upon hearing Jones’ tweeted response in real time – “Go 185? I didn’t gain this weight for no reason” – White suggested they get initial talks under way, but also called Jones’ bluff by hinting Derrick Lewis (25-7, one no contest) could get the next shot.

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“I like it. That sounds serious, then, Jon,” White said. “Call [UFC executive vice-president] Hunter [Campbell] right now. We can make that fight tonight, Jon. Derrick Lewis is the fight to make, but if Jon Jones really wants that fight – listen, it’s one thing to go out and tweet that you want it and ‘I put on the weight’ and this and that. Do you want the fight?

“I promise you, we can call Derrick Lewis and one of these other heavyweights and they want the fight. If Jones really wants the fight, Jones knows he can get the fight. All he’s gotta do is call and do it. Francis Ngannou is the heavyweight champion of the world right now. All he’s gotta do is call Hunter.”

Jones, who last fought in a unanimous decision win against Dominick Reyes in February 2020, appeared to reignite his previous money-related feud with White. The man widely considered to be the No 1 pound-for-pound fighter of all time said he was really looking to return but would only do so for the pay he feels he deserves.

“If anyone is wondering if I really want to fight, the answer is yes. I also really want to get paid,” he said.

“I quit the light heavyweight division, literally gained a massive amount of weight. And now people are saying I’m afraid? Everyone but me claiming that I’m afraid. All I asked was to get paid.

“Why does a fighter have to be afraid the second he mentions he wants to get paid his worth. What an insult,” Jones continued, making comparisons to former two-weight champion Conor McGregor.

“Conor McGregor wants big money, it’s expected. Jon Jones wants money, now he’s scare. I’ve been working my butt off, gained all this weight. Have never lost a fight before. Now all of a sudden I am scared. What bulls***.”

Ngannou added at the press conference that the Jones fight “makes more sense” than other options, but if he does not move up to heavyweight, “the division has to move”.

“As a new heavyweight champion, I’m deciding to put more activity in the division than [Jones] did in the past two or three years,” he said.

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