Jon Jones

UFC President Dana White ripped into Jon Jones on Saturday, calling out the light heavyweight champion for "tarnishing" his own name as the impasse regarding Jones' next fight continues.

White told reporters:

"He can do whatever he wants. He wants to sit out, fight, he can do whatever. He can say whatever he wants publicly. It's his God-given right in America. He can say whatever he wants. When he's ready to come back, he can.

"In one of his tweets, he said I tarnished his name. I tarnished you? You've done a very good job of tarnishing you."

White has been negotiating Jones' long-anticipated move up to heavyweight to fight Francis Ngannou, but the two sides have not gotten close to an agreement. The UFC president told ESPN this week that Jones asked for an "absurd" amount of money.

"I tarnished you? You’ve done a very good job of tarnishing you."

Dana White had a strong reply to @JonnyBones' latest comments about getting "Deontay Wilder" money. #UFCVegas | Full interview: https://t.co/HMgZnSOnZ6 pic.twitter.com/Ne9FBMSGAu

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 31, 2020

"So is Jon Jones going to go in and fight Francis Ngannou and then try to take a run at the heavyweight title? I don't believe that," White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "He's never wanted to move to heavyweight before, and for the amount of money he's asking for, it's not going to happen. He couldn't be asking for a more absurd amount of money at a worse time."

Jones has taken to Twitter several times to dispute White's claims, calling the UFC president a "f--king liar."

Jones tweeted:

"It's interesting to just sit here and watch your boss lie to the camera like this. We never discussed any increase in pay. Immediately the conversation was that I already made enough. I never made a number offer...I was over the situation, but I'm not gonna sit back and allow Dana to lie to the fans. I never asked for an absurd amount of money. That's bulls--t.

"...Don't be a f--king liar, my reputation has already taking enough hits. I don't need this bulls--t Dana. I never asked for Diante Wilder's numbers. And how about since Diante is making 30 million, we settle for half of that. Since you said I'm the goat and everything.

"I don't even make half of half of what Diante Wilder makes. If my reputation causes you to undervalue me this much. Just go ahead and release me from my UFC contract altogether. I'm sure some promoter somewhere will be more than happy to pick me up."

White's comments Saturday seemed to escalate the feud, essentially alluding to Jones' issues outside the Octagon. Jones has been convicted of driving under the influence twice, including a March arrest in New Mexico. He was also involved in a 2015 hit-and-run and pleaded no contest last year to disorderly conduct after an altercation with a waitress at a strip club.

In addition, Jones has tested positive for banned substances at multiple points in his UFC career, for both performance-enhancing drugs and cocaine.  

"Hunter and I had a very respectful conversation. I love how you're trying to paint this picture of me being some angry guy disrespectfully demanding money," Jones tweeted. "And then bringing up my out of the cage affairs to justify under paying me by tens of millions for years...You're talking all that big guy stuff about not caring. Put your money where your mouth is and release me from that contract."

UFC president Dana White has said Jon Jones wants to be paid like former WBC champion Deontay Wilder if he is going to move up to heavyweight. 

Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday's UFC Fight Night, White said Jones told his lawyer "he wants what Deontay Wilder was paid" for the February bout with Tyson Fury (starts at 2:50 mark):

Per ESPN's Dan Rafael, the Nevada State Athletic Commission officially listed the payout for Wilder and Fury as $5 million, but both men were guaranteed more than $25 million and a percentage of the pay-per-view profits. 

Jones wrote on Twitter that White is a "f--king liar" and he "never" asked for Wilder money, but that he feels UFC should pay him more for a superfight. 

Rumors of Jones moving to heavyweight picked up steam earlier this month on Twitter when he wrote he has "absolutely nothing else to prove as a light heavyweight" and solicited fan opinions about whether Thiago Santos or Francis Ngannou is the better striker. 

Jones is the current UFC light heavyweight champion and has a 26-1 record with one no contest. He most recently defeated Dominick Reyes by unanimous decision to retain the title at UFC 247 in February. 

UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN's First Take on Friday, discussing the future of Conor McGregor, the public dispute with Jon Jones and the promotion's return to Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns on Saturday.

When asked about the next fight for McGregor—who has recently called out multiple fighters on social media, including Oscar De La Hoya, Anderson Silva and Justin Gaethje—White said: 

"I think what's in Conor's best interest right now: Stay in shape, be ready, let's see how some of these fights play out and see what's next for him. The fight that I know he wants and the fight that should happen is the rematch with him and Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. So we'll see what happens with Gaethje, and if it ends up being Gaethje, then it'll be Conor and Gaethje. I think that's the smartest, best choice for Conor right now. He is always really good at reaching out to me and letting me know when he's ready and what he wants next. So when that happens, we'll figure it out."

The Irishman last fought in the Octagon at UFC 246 in January, beating Donald Cerrone via technical knockout.

White also addressed Jones' expected jump to heavyweight for a highly anticipated bout against Francis Ngannou, which is on hold after Bones requested more money:  

"The truth is the guy wants a ton of money. Apparently, he doesn't think it's an obscene amount of money. He has a contract. He has a deal to fight. We always told him, 'If you want to move up to heavyweight, absolutely we would make a new deal with you to move up to heavyweight'. That was factored in when we just did his new deal. ... He's asking for an amount of money, and it's not going to happen."

White added it was "sad" how Jones hasn't lived up to his potential.

For their part, Jones and Ngannou have seemed united in their response:

Before even discussing numbers, the UFC was unwilling to pay more for the Francis super fight / for me to move to heavyweight. Said I could possibly earn more in pay-per-view buys.

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020

2) No title fight, no super fight, who knows when going to be my next fight 😤. Hope it's not in another 11 months or so. #ThisIsSucks

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 22, 2020

White also discussed some of the UFC's challenges in making a return to Vegas after the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended combat sports in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He said he felt the Apex was the "safest" place for the promotion to hold its fights, noting there would be half the typical number of staff working Saturday's event and adding everyone there would be tested for the virus.

In the main event, Tyron Woodley (19-4-1) will be taking on Gilbert Burns (18-3), who is coming off his fifth straight win. 

"In Burns you have the young, up-and-coming hungry guy, and then you have Tyron Woodley, who's saying: 'I want to be looked at as one of the greatest ever. I want my belt back,'" White said. "... [Burns is] very aggressive. He will put that type of pressure on Tyron Woodley that will make Woodley fight." 

Dana White has been a busy man in the last few weeks, and it looks like that trend will continue as the UFC heads into the summer. 

The organization returned to action after the COVID-19 pandemic brought an end to fights for a while. It put on three different events in one week in Jacksonville, Florida, and now UFC is set to branch out beyond Florida. 

The UFC president spoke with ESPN on a number of hot topics in the MMA world on Friday and shed some light on several developments that could shape the upcoming fight calendar. 

Here's a quick rundown of the boss' word on everything from the UFC card set to go down next Saturday, a potential Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou fight and "Fight Island."

       

Jones vs. Ngannou Not Likely

There have been plenty of fights the UFC has made that started off as a Twitter beef. According to Dana White, a heavyweight blockbuster between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou isn't going to be one of them.

Jones and Ngannou have had a quickly escalating war of words on social media that fanned the flames of the idea that the light heavyweight kingpin could move up to heavyweight in the near future. Not only would he be moving up, but he would also be taking on one of the most feared strikers in the sport. 

However, despite the war of words, White doesn't see the fight happening:

"Obviously that's a fight people would love to see and these guys are talking a lot of smack back and forth. [But] I don't see that fight happening."@danawhite pumps the brakes on Ngannou and Jones happening at heavyweight. pic.twitter.com/zahOH13gtK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 22, 2020

Jones has publicly talked about the idea of moving up to heavyweight to fight The Predator. However, he quickly turned his crosshairs on the UFC itself, stating his frustration the organization was "unwilling to pay more" for moving up to heavyweight and fighting Ngannou. 

After hinting that he may be taking some time away from the sport, he backtracked on the idea and suggested Jan Blachowicz—a light heavyweight challenger—could be next. 

Jones' reign over the light heavyweight division has been as dominant a run as any in the UFC, but Dominick Reyes was able to give him his toughest test to date last time out. So even if the Ngannou superfight doesn't happen, it's notable that Jones called out Blachowicz as the next challenger in his native division. 

     

Fight Island Could Be Up-and-Running by June

When the UFC was desperately trying to pull off UFC 249 amid the coronavirus pandemic, Dana White introduced the idea of Fight Island: A private island owned by the UFC that would allow the company to put on fights while the rest of the sports world was shutdown. 

Since then, the organization has found a way to put on some cards in the United States. UFC 249 and two others have already gone down with another card planned for next Saturday. However, that hasn't ended the idea of Fight Island. 

The UFC president said the organization is looking toward June and that he will live at the island for the month of July as the company looks to make use of the facility at an undisclosed location:

“Right now, we’re looking at June and we’re literally going to knock out three or four fights there in a month… I’ll probably be there the whole month of July.”@danawhite gives @Jon_Anik the latest update on Fight Island 🏝 pic.twitter.com/J5r6dbHnFn

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 22, 2020

This seems bizarre even by UFC standards, but White hasn't backed down from the island's existence since it was first brought up. With international travel continuing to be an issue, the island would ostensibly make it easier for fighters to travel to a private island and stay isolated long enough to compete. 

If Fight Island exists and is operational, it will make the UFC's hopes of a busy summer much more realistic. 

       

Full May 30 Event Lineup Announced

In a rush to make up for lost time, UFC has been aggressive in putting together an array of events.

Specifically, an event for May 30 was announced just weeks before it was set to go off, and the president finally revealed the full lineup of fights to ESPN:

Lots to like on the May 30 prelims as well. pic.twitter.com/mj4cv7EUwl

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 22, 2020

The main card is headlined by a welterweight fight between Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns. It's an important fight in the division because a loss for Woodley would likely take him far from the title picture. He is just one fight removed from his championship reign being ended by Kamaru Usman, but his style didn't do him any favors in the booking department. 

Burns is an interesting opponent as he has defeated Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson in his last two fights and boasts a five-fight win streak. 

Elsewhere on the card, a women's flyweight fight between Katlyn Chookagian and Antonina Shevchenko headlines the prelim lineup. Chookagian is also coming off a loss in a title fight. She was beaten by third-round TKO in February as the challenger to Valentina Shevchenko's crown. 

Antonina is the older sister of the champion but hasn't experienced the same success in the Octagon. She's 2-1 in her UFC career and 8-1 as a professional. 

It's a card that isn't killer by any means, but it is fairly impressive given the amount of time the company had to put it together. 

Just nine days out from the next UFC card, the full lineup of fights at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas is starting to take shape. 

A few days ago, the event didn't even have an official location. However, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday UFC President Dana White has said the card "is a go" in its desired location. 

At the time, the only bouts on the card were the main event between former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns.

Now, it appears that more fights are being targeted for the short-notice event. 

Mike Heck of MMA Fighting has reported the promotion is targeting a flyweight matchup between Tim Elliott and promotional newcomer Brandon Royval, a lightweight tilt between Brok Weaver and Roosevelt Roberts, and a bantamweight fight between Louis Smolka and Casey Kenney. 

Combined with the main event and four other fights that were previously scheduled, the card could look like this:

• Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns
• Tim Elliott vs. Brandon Royval
• Brok Weaver vs. Roosevelt Roberts
• Louis Smolka vs. Casey Kenney
• Mackenzie Dern vs. Hannah Cifers
• Blagoy Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai
• Klidson Abreu vs. Jamahal Hill

However, more fights could be on the way. Heck also reported the organization was working on up to six fights and it should be expected to see a "close to full slate" on Saturday night. That could mean an additional 4-5 more fights are added before the event goes off next weekend. 

While much of the news surrounding the UFC right now is on scheduling there is still some aftermath from last week's action and a brewing rivalry that could be gold for fans. 

         

Anthony Smith Defends Referee Jason Herzog

MMA officiating was a hot-button issue after UFC 249 because of Keith Peterson's decision to end Dominick Cruz's fight against Henry Cejudo too early in the eyes of the challenger. It was again the topic of discussion after Jason Herzog allowed Anthony Smith every possible opportunity to rally against Glover Teixeira as he took an increasingly bad beat down. 

Smith was outstruck in the third round 43-1 and the next two rounds weren't any more competitive. At 55-12, Smith took a ton of damage while offering little hope that he could come back and win the fight. 

However, Lionheart has defended Herzog. 

"I'm good with it. That's the way that I wanted it to pan out," Smith said, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "I know that people online are going crazy right now, and I think that's for a couple different reasons. I have some theories on why it bothers people so much, but I put myself in that position on purpose by having the rule where my corners aren't allowed to stop the fight and by making sure that I know the referee's commands and what it's going to sound like before he stops the fight and what I need to do, by what I told the doctor. Everything worked perfect."

Smith's preference to battle it out no matter what is why he has a reputation as a tough, durable fighter. Whether that's good for the sport is still up for debate, but it's clear Smith holds no personal grudges against Herzog for the late stoppage. 

          

Jones and Ngannou Continue to Publicly Campaign for Fight

The Twitter beef between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and all-around terrifying human being Francis Ngannou continues to rage and escalate quicker than one would expect. 

What started off as fairly innocuous speculation about moving up to heavyweight from Jones soon became an actual callout and the back-and-forth was on.

Fans shouldn't be too quick to rejoice in a potential megafight yet, though. Almost as quickly as Jones was to call out Ngannou, he turned to the UFC and its negotiations for the fight. According to Jones, the UFC was not willing to pay him more to move up to heavyweight:

I watched some tapes too pic.twitter.com/EE1qb2Y5eY

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 20, 2020

Jones suggested he may be taking an extended leave of absence in the wake of the negotiations:

Before even discussing numbers, the UFC was unwilling to pay more for the Francis super fight / for me to move to heavyweight. Said I could possibly earn more in pay-per-view buys.

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020

It’s been fun you guys, maybe I’ll see you all in a year or two.

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) May 21, 2020

This could be seen in one of many ways. Jones has long teased a move up to the heavyweight division, but it has never come to fruition, so it would make sense he wants to be compensated accordingly. Publicly claiming the UFC hasn't offered enough money to make such a jump could be a negotiation tactic. 

Jones is coming off the closest fight in a career that has been marked by domination. Dominick Reyes took the champion to a decision in a competitive five-round bout.

While a rematch with Reyes would be another potential fight to make, a move to heavyweight is one of the biggest things the UFC could do. With Francis Ngannou's recent knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik, this would be an opportunity for the UFC to strike while the iron is hot. 

Regardless of whether Jones' tirade is a bargaining move, the chances of a fight don't look great but things can change pretty quickly. 

As is usually the case, the question of who Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight next and when has been the center of discussion in the MMA world. 

With his fight against Tony Ferguson scheduled and canceled five times, Nurmagomedov's fight calendar has been at the center of attention before. This time the opponent is Justin Gaethje, and the search for a date that works for all parties appears to be a developing story. 

It's one of the biggest stories to come out of last Saturday's UFC 249, but the Fight Night event the UFC put on on Wednesday has generated some buzz of its own. It inspired Jon Jones to pick up his phone and take to Twitter to give some thoughts on what might be next for him. 

Unfortunately, it also showed what can be the ugly side of MMA. Anthony Smith took a ton of damage in his fifth-round TKO loss to Glover Teixeira that could have probably been over a lot sooner and has prominent figures in the MMA landscape weighing in. 

Here's a roundup of the latest. 

      

Khabib vs. Gaethje Targeted for September

Once Justin Gaethje battered Tony Ferguson in a fifth-round TKO win over the former interim champion, a matchup between The Highlight and undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov instantly became the new fight to make. Not just in the lightweight division but in the UFC right now. 

It could have been the excitement and buzz from Gaethje's dominant performance that had Dana White talking about making the fight happen on "Fight Island" in June or July. 

With some time to mull it over and other factors coming in to play, it now appears the targeted date will be closer to fall. 

"Because I talked to Khabib yesterday, and he said September. I'm ready to go in September," White said about the fight, per Farah Hannoun and John Morgan of MMAjunkie. 

One of the factors for Nurmagomedov is presumably the health of his father and trainer, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who has been in a "serious but stable" condition in Russia after complications following heart surgery, per RT.com. 

A summer date would have also been a quick turnaround from Ramadan for Nurmagomedov. The champion rarely fights close to Ramadan as he prefers to have time to resume training after spending the month fasting. 

A September date gives Gaethje time to fully recover from his high-paced fight with Ferguson and allow time for Nurmagomedov to be with his family now. 

      

Jon Jones Teases Move to Heavyweight

The notion of Jon Jones moving to heavyweight has been entertained by MMA fans for years. He's dominated the light heavyweight division so thoroughly throughout most of his career that him moving up to take on the big men of MMA is an intriguing idea. 

As one of his latest Tweets might suggest, he too is wondering how he'd fare at heavyweight. Specifically how he'd do against former title challenger Francis Ngannou.

The two exchanged words on social media and seem publicly open to a fight: 

If you think you can handle my technique level that’s fine 🤷‍♂️ but I agree with you that you don’t have anything to prove in LHW division and that this should be for bags 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰 https://t.co/PtD04F3aSl

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 14, 2020

For once Jones actually has business to take care of in his native division. He won a narrow decision over Dominick Reyes in his last fight, and a rematch with The Devastator is close to the top of the list of biggest fights the organization could make. 

There's no denying, however, that a fight between Jones and the rising star of the heavyweight division would be bigger. 

Ngannou's hellish knockout power has crushed everyone he has fought except for the champion Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in a bizarre performance. 

Since those two losses, Ngannou has knocked out four straight with only one of those opponents lasting longer than a minute. Ngannou added Jairzinho Rozenstruik to the list of victims in 20 seconds on Saturday night, thus making his stock even higher. 

The problem is that Stipe Miocic is supposed to fight Daniel Cormier a third time, and it has Ngannou in a bit of a holding pattern. 

A big-money fight against Jones would not only be an epic pay-per-view opportunity but something that could interest The Predator outside of a championship fight. 

       

Michael Bisping and Others Sound Off on Main Event Late Stoppage

The main event of Wednesday night's Fight Night card became difficult to watch in the championship rounds. Anthony Smith—who started strong before Glover Teixeira took over—is known for his toughness and living up to his Lionheart moniker, but he took an excessive amount of damage before Jason Herzog stepped in to stop the fight. 

Former UFC champion and current analyst Michael Bisping wasn't shy in criticizing both Herzog and Smith's corner for not bringing an end to the bout sooner. 

"I love Anthony Smith," Bisping said on the ESPN+ post-fight show (h/t Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting). "He works with us. He's a part of the team. May the best man win, and that's how I truly felt. But watching it there tonight, I was like, ‘My word, stop this fight.' Either the corner and referee needs to do this. I love MMA, but we've got to catch up to boxing in regards to stopping the fight."

According to UFC Stats, Smith landed just one significant strike to Teixeira's 43, with 33 of those landing to the head. 

Rounds 4 and 5 didn't play out much better for Smith. He was outstruck by Teixeira 51-12 in those rounds before it mercifully came to an end. 

Ariel Helwani of ESPN reported the various injuries that Smith suffered in the bout. 

Just spoke to Anthony Smith via text.

Injuries suffered tonight: Broken nose, broken orbital bone, two missing teeth and a cut under his right eye. One tooth in front and one towards the back, he said. His real teeth.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 14, 2020

MMA referee is not an easy job. Dominick Cruz was recently displeased with the officiating in his UFC 249 bantamweight fight because he felt the fight was stopped too early. 

However, it's a lot easier to see stories where the fight could have gone on longer but the referee tries to protect the fighter by calling it earlier than the inverse. Someone taking as much damage as Smith did on Wednesday is not good for the fighter and isn't good for the sport.   

Back in February, Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes put on one of the most interesting fights in what has become a shortened 2020 fight year. 

The Devastator stunned fight fans as he came as close to beating Jones as anyone. The champ retained via unanimous decision but won the fight 48-47 on two of the judges' scorecards. Now a rematch between the two is one of the top fights that could be made in the light heavyweight division. 

The fight had Bleacher Report staff writers split on whether Reyes was robbed in the controversial fight. 

With the UFC on hiatus until at least May 9, the status of a rematch between the two, Georges St-Pierre's future and Tony Ferguson highlight the latest news to come out of the UFC. Here's a roundup of the latest. 

     

Reyes is Confident His Rematch is Coming

While it's easy to see the appeal for a second fight between Reyes and Jones, the champion doesn't seem interesting in giving the 30-year-old another crack at the title. 

That's at least according to Reyes. Speaking to Nolan King of MMAjunkie, the title challenger said he's just waiting on Jones to sign on the dotted line. 

"I know the UFC is on board," Reyes told King. "I know I'm on board. The issue is Jon right now. He's going to say he's down online, obviously on Twitter. When he gets those contracts in front of him, he's a little different. That's where we're at."

Reyes went on to say that he believes there's a "90-something percent chance" that he gets a second day against the champion but wants to wait until the fall.

There are other options for Jones when he returns to the Octagon. Reyes is perhaps the most obvious choice after a rare close fight for him, but a move up to heavyweight has always been a possibility for the champion. 

A loss to Reyes would hamper the excitement of that move. He's much more likely to come up to heavyweight as conquerer of the light heavyweight than leaving the division after a loss. So Reyes is wise to be aggressive in seeking his shot at Jones as soon as possible. 

       

Georges St-Pierre Not Likely to Come Back

In 2017, Georges St-Pierre added one more accomplishment to his Hall of Fame career. He came back after four years away from the sport to capture the middleweight championship from Michael Bisping. 

He vacated the title just 34 days later and hasn't been seen in the Octagon since.

There were rumblings in 2018 that GSP could return. UFC President Dana White even threw out a date that would "make sense" for him to come back but didn't want him to move to lightweight to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov or Conor McGregor. 

Two years later, fans can probably go ahead and count that among the things that won't be happening. 

Ariel Helwani interviewed the greatest welterweight of all time for ESPN, and St-Pierre said it would take a "180-degree turnaround" for him to fight again. 

Among the interesting nuggets in the interview is that St-Pierre said he, "never enjoyed one second inside the Octagon in (his) entire career." 

GSP is 38 years old, which would make him one of the elder statesmen in the game, but that doesn't rule out a return. Daniel Cormier is 41 years old for comparison. However, it doesn't sound like St-Pierre is mentally into making a return to the Octagon, which is refreshing in a sport where many hang on too long. 

      

Tony Ferguson Makes Weight for...Reasons?

In the latest edition of "Tony Ferguson just doing Tony Ferguson things," the lightweight fighter was sure to make weight for his interim title fight that was supposed to go down Saturday night but was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ariel Helwani provided the evidence:

Tony Ferguson just sent me this. He has officially made 155. pic.twitter.com/yy9zWWqYPB

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 17, 2020

Ferguson was originally scheduled to fight longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249. However, the bout was called off for the fifth time when Nurmagomedov was stuck in Russia and the event's location had not yet been announced. 

Justin Gaethje was tabbed as the replacement for Nurmagomedov before the bout was ultimately canceled. Now, May 9 has become the targeted date for a bout between Gaethje and Ferguson, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Helwani also shared a picture reportedly sent by Ferguson of a scale showing the fighter weighing 163.6 pounds on Thursday night, documenting his weight cut for a fight that will not take place. 

Why Ferguson would put himself through a weight cut for a fight that isn't happening is strange, but for a man who is known for his unconventional workout methods, this is just the latest thing that can be described as Ferguson being Ferguson. 

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the UFC wanted to set up a light heavyweight title rematch between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes. 

Speaking to ESPN's Brett Okamoto in an interview published on Saturday, Reyes said the organization was looking to schedule the bout for some time in the fall before things stopped because of the pandemic.

"Yes, we were talking early fall," Reyes said. "We started moving along, moving along, and then [COVID-19]. And that was it."

Reyes and Jones fought in the main event of UFC 247 on Feb. 8. Jones retained the light heavyweight crown by unanimous decision, but the fight was close with two judges scoring it 48-47. 

Despite the defeat, Reyes told Okamoto he believes a rematch with Jones will be his next fight whenever it can happen:

"What I did in our fight, what happened, it was a big event. A lot of people talked about it for a long time. They're still talking about it. I think not just myself, but the people kind of feel cheated with that fight. They want to see it again, see me perform like I did once again. A lot of people think that belt is mine. I agree. So let's get it."

Recent legal issues for the champion have also cast some doubt over a potential rematch.

Jones reached a plea deal on Tuesday following his March 26 arrest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on charges of aggravated DWI, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container, and no proof of insurance. 

Under terms of his plea, Jones received 96 hours of community custody, one year of supervised probation, a minimum 90 days of outpatient therapy and 48 hours of community service. 

UFC's schedule has been impacted by the pandemic, though Dana White remains steadfast in his attempts to keep the promotion running events. 

After holding UFC Fight Night 170 from Brasília, Brazil in an empty arena on March 14, White announced the next three events would be postponed.

White is still hoping to hold UFC 249 on April 18, though no location has been announced. The show was supposed to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov defending the lightweight title against Tony Ferguson, but that match appears to be off after Nurmagomedov posted on Instagram Thursday that he was staying home in quarantine. 

The loss was Reyes' first as a professional mixed martial artist. Nine of his 12 career wins have come by knockout or submission, including four in the UFC. 

Ryan Bader has said he wants to step into the Octagon with Jon Jones, nine years on from their first fight.

Bader suffered the first loss of his career to Jones in 2011 at UFC 126, with the latter locking in a fight-ending guillotine choke.

Speaking to TMZ, Bader said he would be open to another fight with Jones, as he believes he could give the current UFC light heavyweight champion some problems:

"That's one fight I'd love to get back. It was 2011 when that happened. I've grown and changed so much since then. Physically, mentally. We'd love to be able to do some cross-promotion deal.

"...If we can make some sort of cross-promotion [between Bellator and UFC], exhibition, whatever the hell it is. Just unify [the LHW title]."

In the same clip, Bader says that he considers Jones to be the greatest MMA fighter in history. He added, "I don't see myself leaving [Bellator]," and the same applies to Jones with the UFC, meaning some kind of cross-promotion would be needed to get the fight set up.

During Bader's time in Bellator, he has yet to lose a contest, winning both the light heavyweight and heavyweight belts.

His previous fight, against Cheick Kongo, ended in a no contest because of an accidental eye poke, meaning Bader retained his heavyweight title.

Jones is considered one of the all-time greats of the sport, with his only defeat in 28 fights coming as the result of a disqualification.

Since making his return to action in December 2018, Jones has won all of his four fights, though he's been pushed hard in the previous two. 

He needed a split decision to beat Thiago Santos at UFC 239, while he controversially won a unanimous-decision verdict against Dominick Reyes in February at UFC 247.