Joe Rogan claims Jon Jones is demanding a 10-figure purse to fight Tom Aspinall.
The UFC is desperate to get Jones and Aspinall together in the Octagon to unify the heavyweight titles.
GETTYJones and Aspinall is in the works[/caption]
Jones picked up the full world title by beating Cyril Gane in March 2023 following a reign of dominance over the light-heavyweight division and was then matched up with former champion Stipe Miocic in November 2023.
However, Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle in training, leading to the fight being postponed for 12 months while ‘Bones’ recovered.
In the meantime, the UFC replaced Jones vs Miocic with an interim title fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavolvich.
The Brit won the bout via first-round knockout, thus making him Jones’s No.1 contender.
However, since finally putting his drawn-out clash with Miocic to bed in November at UFC 309 with a one-sided third-round TKO victory, Jones has shown little interest in facing Aspinall.
During his post-fight press conference, he suggested he would rather take on light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and insisted he was done with fighting ‘dangerous up-and-comers’.
Yet the UFC has remained steadfast in pushing for Jones vs Aspinall to come next – although they will have to dig deep into their pockets to get it over the line.
That is according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who claims Jones wants $30million to fight Aspinall.
Speaking during a recent episode of his podcast, he said: “I think it’s gonna be Aspinall, I think they’re trying to come to some sort of agreement.
“The rumour is that he wants $30m and the UFC is going to pay it. Hopefully… I hope they pay it.”
YouTube @PowerfulJRERogan claims Jones is demanding a record-breaking payout to face Aspinall[/caption]
If the UFC meet Jones’ demands then it would shatter the record for the biggest purse in the company’s history.
At present, that distinction lies with Brock Lesnar, who earned a reported $8m for his comeback fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016.
Lesnar ended up testing positive for banned substances drugs clomiphene and hydroxy-clomiphene in an out-of-competition drug sample collected two weeks before their fight.
He also tested positive when a second sample was taken on the night of his fight against Hunt.
As a result, he received a $250,000 fine and a one-year ban from the sport.
The next highest purse is the $6.8m McGregor earned for his lightweight title fight with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in late 2016.
Jones’ highest-ever reported payout comes in at No.3 – $6.2m for his last outing against Miocic.
