Jon Jones has publicly pushed back at Dana White and the UFC after being left off the historic UFC White House card, venting in a string of now-deleted tweets and an emotional Instagram Live.
Announced for June 14 on the White House South Lawn and tied to President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and his “Freedom 250” branding, the UFC White House event has been billed by White as one of the most significant cards in company history.
The lineup, revealed after UFC 326, features Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title fight and Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane for an interim heavyweight belt, but does not include the former two-division champion. Asked about Jones’ status, White insisted at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference that Jones was “never, ever, ever” in serious consideration for the White House show and said he now views the longtime champion as effectively retired.
Jon Jones goes off on UFC White House plans after learning he’s not on the card
Those comments sparked a late-night social media outburst from Jones, who took issue with White’s suggestion that talks about a White House appearance were minimal or nonexistent.
In a series of posts on X that were later deleted, Jones asked if he had been “released from the UFC,” questioned how negotiations could be dismissed, and wrote lines like “Make this make sense” and “So all of this negotiating was complete bullsh*t, is that what you want me to agree to publicly?” He described trying to process the situation while lying in bed and repeatedly called it “f*king painful,” suggesting he felt misrepresented by the UFC’s public narrative.
Jones followed the tweets with an Instagram Live session in which he appeared from bed and said, “I’m so pissed off,” before going quiet, a clip that quickly circulated among MMA outlets and fan pages. The outburst marked a sharp turn in what had once been a close relationship between Jones and White, with Jones now casting himself as a scapegoat while the promotion moves forward without him on what it is framing as a legacy card.
Reporter Ariel Helwani and other outlets have since confirmed that there were at least some talks between Jones and the UFC about a White House fight, even if the sides never reached a deal, adding fuel to the dispute over how those negotiations are being portrayed.
For now, the UFC White House event heads toward June with title fights booked and the company signaling a future that no longer includes Jon Jones.
