Dana White responds to reports Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal want to leave UFC due to being ‘short-changed’

UFC president Dana White has told Jorge Masvidal he does not need him as he responded to speculation over the star and Jon Jones’ future.

Gamebred vented his frustrations on Twitter yesterday after failing to receive what he felt was fair compensation for a fight.

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UFC allegedly wanted the 35-year-old to take a pay cut for a title shot against welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

Meanwhile, ex-light heavyweight champion Jones relinquished his title after failing to agree terms on a deal to fight Francis Ngannou.

Masvidal claimed they were getting short-changed despite White “buying an island” to stage events on.

And that has led to intense speculation both the “BMF” title holder and Jones had asked for their release.

WHITE HITS BACK

Now in the build-up to tonight’s UFC 250 event in Las Vegas, White has hit back and issued a warning to both men.

And he is adamant UFC will not budge on their financial offers due to his organisation suffering from loss of earnings during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the media ahead of the upcoming pay-per-view, White said: “I said it when we were going through the pandemic and the media was asking me, ‘what if the fighters are worried and don’t want to fight?’”

“Well, you don’t have to fight. Anybody that doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t have to fight, including Masvidal and Jon Jones and all these other guys, and it doesn’t have to be because of a pandemic.”

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He continued: “These guys are independent contractors. “This isn’t like the NFL, where I can make you – you come to practice, and you do this, or you’re going to get fined.

“These guys can do whatever they want. They can say whatever they want. I had a big thing the other day with a reporter about fighter pay.

“They can come out and tell you what they make any day of the week. They can do any of that stuff. These guys can do whatever they want. They don’t have to fight.

“And we’re not begging people to fight. We’re offering fights, because in our contract, I have to give you three fights a year. I owe you three fights a year.

“You have the ability to turn them down and not take them. So they can do whatever they want.”

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