Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou have expressed their disappointment at the UFC being unwilling to loosen their purse strings sufficiently for a blockbuster clash. As a result,  ‘Bones’ hinted a hiatus, whilst ‘The Predator’ hoped he didn’t have to cool his heels on the sidelines for an extended period. Fellow UFC fighter Daniel Cormier opened up on the issue, urging transparency on ‘Bones’ side.  

Daniel Cormier opens up on Jon Jones

In a chat with ESPN MMA’s Ariel Helwani, ‘DC’ opened up on a realistic number for ‘Bones’ to move to Heavyweight. 

“Yea but you know honestly. I can’t imagine… I mean, I remember a time when Jon Jones and I were gonna fight. He’s like I got 10 million dollars right, like that’s what he kept saying. And if you have 10 million dollars, you get half of that in one fight. I think that’s good.”

In this regard, Helwani persisted by asking ‘DC’ if he doesn’t think the UFC Light Heavyweight champion should get more. 

“No man. I mean, people don’t get more to go up to Heavyweight. Like I didn’t get more to go up to Heavyweight.”

But the top-ranked Heavyweight contender struggled to keep a straight face as he revealed he got a pay rise for moving up a division. However, on a more serious note, ‘DC’ pointed out that ‘Bones’ base salary is key to the UFC giving him a raise. 

“But let’s say Jon Jones’ pay is $3 million. Say his base is $5 million, let’s get him $7 million. That’s $2 million. But what was the number? When you’re talking transparency. Tell the number. If you’re being transparent, tell the number that you threw out there. If you threw out the number, what do you think is legitimate for him to go up there. $12 million, $20 million, what’s the number?”

Fans aren’t privy to this information, and both fighters remain mum about this. 

What do you think is ‘Bones’ base salary leading to the UFC to hold firm and not pay more for the fight?

“You’re Willing to Pay Other Fighters Tens of Millions of Dollars”- Jon Jones Blasts UFC