“Bones” asked the UFC to “just f*cking let me go already” after company president Dana White implied that the former champion was asking for more money as a way of avoiding a fight with heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. As of right now, it’s still unknown if the UFC and Jones will come to terms for the megafight.
Aldo, who for years reigned over the featherweights in the UFC and the WEC, had previously reached a point of asking for his release from the promotion after realizing the UFC wouldn’t book a rematch between him and Conor McGregor after his second win over Frankie Edgar. That dispute was in 2016 and Aldo now feels “reborn” as a bantamweight, crediting his training with the Brazilian Navy as part of the recipe for his rejuvenation, and he believes feels Jones and UFC will also ultimately come to an agreement.
“For sure, brother. I believe that,” Aldo said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “Jon Jones wants to become champion, especially in a new weight class, and he also wants that fight. I think he’s trying to improve his side and, in the end, we’ll have this fight.”
Jones took to social media to reveal that he considers a payday “anywhere around eight to $10 million” to be “way too low for a fight of this magnitude,” and Aldo expects them to clash heads until finally agreeing on something beneficial to both sides.
“An athlete will always want to get paid more and a boss will always try to pay less,” Aldo said. “This conflict happens not only in the UFC but inside any company. It will always be like this. I understand Jon Jones’ side, I also understand UFC’s side. Both want to defend their sides. It’s only fair, one wants to get paid more and the other wants to pay what he thinks should be paid. I’ve been through that and I know how negotiations go. It’s part [of the game]. Let’s see what happens in the end.”
If that fight does come to fruition, Aldo predicts Jones to dethrone Ngannou in his heavyweight debut.
“I’ve always seen Jon Jones as a big favorite at heavyweight,” Aldo said. “He’s fast, has great wrestling and great reach. He doesn’t have the same punching power of a heavyweight, but he has it all. He has great wrestling and takes any fighter down. If he takes you down, I think it’s hard for any heavyweight to handle him on top.”
Ngannou has shown scary punching power throughout his entire career and enough wrestling to stop Stipe Miocic’s takedown attempt in the rematch at UFC 260 in March, scoring another vicious knockout to become the new heavyweight king. For Aldo, fear might be an issue for anyone facing “The Predator.”
“It might complicate his head,” Aldo said. “Everyone gets in there [thinking], ‘He can’t land a punch otherwise you go down.’ Other than that, Jon Jones fights well at long distance. I see him landing those oblique kicks. I see Jon Jones way ahead technique-wise. I respect the champion, a man that has evolved a lot since he lost to Miocic, but, in a fight between Ngannou and Jon Jones, [I pick] Jon Jones. Against Ngannou or any other heavyweight, I believe Jon Jones’ potential.”
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