Trump Pushed UFC Freedom 250 to 34 Million Viewers as White House Build Sought More Seats

Q: Was Jon Jones's absence from the White House card a matter of money or a question of trust?

It was primarily a question of trust, with money a secondary point of dispute. Dana White’s public position was unequivocal: Jon Jones was “never, ever, ever” under consideration for the White House card because he viewed him as “completely unreliable.” White said he needed fighters he was confident would actually make it to fight night, and he framed Jones’s absence as a dependability issue rather than a failed negotiation. That fits Jones’s long history of withdrawals, title disruptions and shifting retirement plans, which appear to have damaged the UFC’s confidence in building a landmark event around him. Jones, however, gave a different explanation. He said he was “lowballed” and suggested compensation was the sticking point, claiming the UFC would not go beyond about $15 million. That indicates money was at least part of the disagreement from his side. But White publicly disputed that version as well, reinforcing the idea that Jones was not seriously in the plans to begin with. Taken together, the evidence points to this: Jones saw the issue as pay, while the UFC treated it as trust. Since White said Jones was never truly in consideration, the stronger explanation for his absence is that the promotion did not trust him to anchor such a high-risk, high-profile event. Money may have been argued over, but reliability appears to have been the decisive factor.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 3

34 million global viewers made UFC Freedom 250 the most-watched domestic event in company history, with Dana White calling the June 14 White House show a complete success.
Trump drove the scale of the South Lawn setup, White said, repeatedly pressing organizers to add seats and expand a temporary arena despite trees, plantings and other site limits.
85,000 fans also attended the Fan Fest at the Ellipse, which White said was even more impressive given the logistics and crowd management required nearby.
A thunderstorm had already delayed Friday's Lincoln Memorial press conference, but White said the main event was spared when the storm split around the White House and Ellipse.

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Was Jon Jones's absence from the White House card a matter of money or a question of trust?

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Trump Pushed UFC Freedom 250 to 34 Million Viewers as White House Build Sought More Seats

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