Jon Jones was in attendance at Saturday’s Netflix event, and he made his ongoing UFC frustrations known.
The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion appeared as a special guest inside Inglewood’s Intuit Dome.
He spoke at the analyst desk during the MVP MMA broadcast on Netflix, which featured his longtime rival Francis Ngannou’s successful return to the cage.
Jones made it clear that he wishes to leave the UFC to face ‘The Predator’, having expressed his gripes with the organization to the man who wants to promote the huge clash.
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Jon Jones let out his UFC gripes to Jake Paul after publicly saying he wants out of his contract
Ngannou laid claim to the ‘best heavyweight in MMA’ crown after his knockout win over Philipe Lins on Netflix.
Jones unsurprisingly had something to say about that and stated he wishes he had the freedom to prove ‘The Predator’ wrong inside the cage.
And it wasn’t just during the broadcast that Jones expressed his wish to leave the UFC. He apparently discussed the same desire to exit his contract during a private conversation with Jake Paul.
The MVP MMA co-founder disclosed the talk during his backstage press conference after Ronda Rousey submitted Gina Carano with an armbar in the main event.
“I just feel bad when Jon Jones can’t get out of his contract to be a free agent, to be able to provide for his family,” Paul told reporters.
“That is the real meaning behind these things and these fighters being tied up, not being able to pick and choose what they want to do.
“The fact he isn’t on the White House card is very disappointing,” Paul continued. “I got to talk to him tonight, and yeah, he’s upset about it. He’s like, ‘Man, it just sucks.’ He can’t control his career.
“I’ve been pushing for fighters to stay free agents, to work with people like MVP, where these MMA fighters can go and box.
“I’ve been wanting to make Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou, but it’s just tough over there.”
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Jones initially called for his UFC release after being denied a comeback fight at the White House on June 14.
Dana White said the Rochester native was too “unreliable” to be chosen to compete at such an occasion, and they’ve since shared different accounts of how discussions behind the scenes played out.
Jones’ career inside the Octagon looks to be over, but it seems that the GOAT contender still has fighting ambitions that he wishes to fulfill outside of his current employer.