Jon Jones has revealed how he feels about Dana White’s ‘entertaining’ $750million Power Slap promotion.
Prior to UFC 309, which saw Jones retain his UFC heavyweight crowd with a domination of Stipe Miocic, the 37-year-old gave a politician’s answer when asked about his opinion of Power Slap.
Founded in 2022, Power Slap is a controversial slap fighting promotion owned by UFC president White.
During an appearance on The Pete and Sebastian Show, White said: “It’s a $750 million business, so yeah. I even got Power Slap cups.
“I do a reality show and I throw it up on social media. When I say that this is the biggest thing on social media.”
It has garnered a lot of attention online with 5.4 million followers on Instagram and many clips of knockouts going viral with mixed viewpoints.
In an interview with podcaster and MMA journalist Nina-Marie Daniele, Jones said: “Honestly, I support anything that Dana White is doing. It [Power Slap] is different, but different doesn’t necessarily mean bad.
“It’s giving some tough guys out there a chance at fame, what they do with their fame is up to them. It’s entertaining people, it’s giving people a home.
“There are different strokes for different folks. But yeah, I do think it’s very dangerous.”
He continued: “You’re gonna get slapped and that’s the thing I don’t quite support. It’s a wild sport. But I respect you guys, I really do because it takes some balls to stand there and get slapped in the face in front of the world.”
After a coin toss to decide who strikes first, a competitor has a time limit of 60 seconds to deliver an open handed slap which must be below the eye but above the chin with all hand to face contact happening at the same time.
The person being struck cannot flinch, raise their shoulder or tuck in their chins. They have 60 seconds to recover and get back in position before they have to return a hit.
Fights that do not end in a knockout go to the judges scorecards after a maximum of ten rounds.
Jones seems apathetic towards the sport itself but he returned the support White has shown him recently.
White regularly names Jones as the greatest fighter of all time whenever asked so much it has become a meme within the MMA community.
Following Jones’ victory over Miocic at Madison Square Garden, winning the fight via TKO in the third round, White was frustrated as the champion was not named No.1 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Surprisingly Jones took to social media platform X to say: “Being ranked number two pound per pound at 37 years old, I’m happy with that.”
Islam Makhachev leads the pack as he continues to dominate the lightweight division, only having one loss on his record, with great displays against Alex Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira.
Jones believes his legacy as the best ever is secure, but many fans beg to differ with fans of interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, accusing him of ducking a fight.
A unification fight is arguably the most anticipated fight in the UFC as the Brit has the tools and skills to test Jones despite him edging closer to 40.
Jones, though, is looking instead to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
It is the division Jones made his name in, first capturing the belt at age 23 and defeating legends such as Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson.
He then relinquished the light heavyweight golden strap to move up to heavyweight and attain double champion status, which he did against Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
When questioned about his next move by MMA journalist Dave Schmulenson, Jones said: “So right now, the UFC and I, we’re in negotiations. We’re in talks to see what happens next.
“I’m back in the gym, I’m training, I feel really great. The team’s support, they’re right behind me, and we’ll just be ready for whatever opportunity comes our way.
“There is [a dollar amount in mind], but I’m not going to discuss that publicly. We’ll just have to wait and see. … I will be competing in 2025, more than likely.”
