Jon Jones says he turned down UFC 300 main event offer
‘Bones’ admitted that he was contacted to feature in the card’s main event but ended up rejecting the offer. Here’s why.
UFC 300 is getting lots of attention, as it will be one of UFC’s biggest events ever. Although there are still two months to go before it takes place in Las Vegas, fans and fighters themselves are already looking forward to enjoying the top fights that have already been booked.
However, one of the main discussions ahead of the mixed martial arts event is who will headline it, as UFC president Dana White hasn’t announced yet who will be the two fighters that will jump into the octagon in the last fight of the night.
There were lots of rumors during the last weeks about Conor McGregor coming back to feature in the main fight against Michael Chandler, but White recently denied the Irishman would be back at UFC 300.
Besides McGregor, White turned down the possibility of Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Ronda Rousey as candidates for the main event, although the UFC boss has tried to convince The Eagle to get him back out from retirement and make him fight. However, the undefeated Nurmagomedov, who admitted receiving a $40 million offer for a last fight, declined White’s offer.
Jon Jones turns down UFC 300 offer
Besides the aforementioned names, Jon Jones was one of the favorites to make his return to the octagon in April, as he’s considered by many as the greatest UFC fighter of all time.
Jones, who was expected to take on Stipe Miocic in a super battle at heavyweight, tore his pectoral muscle while training for that fight, which had been booked for UFC 295 in November.
Bones had previously captured the vacant UFC heavyweight crown with a quick submission win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
Jones has now admitted that he was offered to appear in the UFC 300′s main event, but he had to decline the offer because of his injury.
“I got a call from [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter Campbell, one of the head lawyers of the UFC, he said, ‘Jon, I know it’s only nine weeks away, but if there’s any chance you’re feeling up to it, it would be awesome news for the community that you’re coming back and headlining one of the biggest events ever’. And, as honored as I am for the opportunity, I just don’t think I’ll be ready. I just don’t”, he said to Submission Radio.
“So, I’m getting up there in age, and I only have a few more events left, and I want to give those events my all and make sure that I come back 100 percent”, Jones added.
A rematch between new middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and former champion Sean Strickland is an option for the main event or a contest between the South African mixed martial artist and former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.