Manager: Jones lost 'an 8 figure payday' at UFC 200

[Wild]

"It was heartbreaking," Jones' manager Malki Kawa said Monday on The MMA Hour. "It was really heartbreaking, because you tell him this and he's looking at me like, ‘what are you talking about?' He thought that it couldn't be for real. This can't happening. The team thought the same thing.

"Everybody was just excited, we're going through fight week, things are going as planned, everything is great, the weight cut is awesome, he's in great spirits, the team is fired up, everybody is around him, we're doing our thing, and basically I walk out into the hallway and have to break the news t everybody that we're not fighting. It went from excitement to as if I told somebody that somebody died. It was that quiet."

Jones and Kawa held a joint press conference the morning after Cormier and UFC president Dana White broke the news. At it, Jones grew emotional as he reflected on the realities and gravity of the situation. White then went on a media tour ripping his embattled star fighter and suggesting that Jones should have "cleaned house" and ridded himself of those who were "supposed to be looking out for him."

Meanwhile, the UFC scrambled to find a replacement for Jones and ultimately settled on former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, guaranteeing that Jones would miss the biggest paycheck of his professional career.

"You're talking about an eight-figure payday," Kawa said. "Eight figures. Conor (McGregor) can talk about whatever he gets and all of that, Jon is by far the highest paid guy in the UFC, and the numbers that were shown that day for everybody from Brock (Lesnar) and the way down, Jon was making more than all of that. So for me, we lost out on an eight-figure payday, including myself. I wasn't going to make eight figures, but I was going to get a percentage of that. The team was going to get a percentage of that. If you think that by any chance I'm going to sit here and be like, ‘hey man, take this supplement,' then I'm just as stupid as the people who think that I'm an enabler."

LINK: Manager: Jon Jones ‘lost out on an eight-figure payday' at UFC 200

 

[Wintermute]

I like this guy less the more he talks.

 

[dacofty]

Bullshit, he took the substances willingly. The spindoctor is gonna spin

 

[Wild]

Think about how much money Jones has lost out on, and could potential lose out on, if he is suspended 2 years. He missed about a year already + 2 more years. That's about 6 fights roughly. So maybe $40 million, if not more? Plus sponsors. Some expensive ass mistakes he's made.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Kawa has always been a cunt. Fuck him.

 

[Qat]

Think about how much money Jones has lost out on, and could potential lose out on, if he is suspended 2 years. He missed about a year already + 2 more years. That's about 6 fights roughly. So maybe $40 million, if not more? Plus sponsors. Some expensive ass mistakes he's made.

Well yeah, but, you can also say that if he is on gear since the get-go, maybe he never would have gotten there to begin with, so looking at it like that is a bit shortsighted, same reason that this dude's argument of 'I'm losing money now too' is a bit hard to take, especially combined with the supplement-shit.

 

[Enock-O-Lypse Now!]

Wonder what the punishment is going to be for this guy, he keeps messing up over and over again ...he's been like a cat with 9 lives to this point ....

 

[Greenbean]

Well yeah, but, you can also say that if he is on gear since the get-go, maybe he never would have gotten there to begin with, so looking at it like that is a bit shortsighted, same reason that this dude's argument of 'I'm losing money now too' is a bit hard to take, especially combined with the supplement-shit.

Absolutely. Would Jones be in a position to make that kind of money in the first place without the help of ped's? We'll never know.

That shit gives more of an edge than just looking swoll. For one, recovery time. Could he cram as much training and learning In the same amount of time without assistance to recovery? It could very well keep you on the mat for longer with less injury and more stamina.

 

[Stillmatic]

Think about how much money Jones has lost out on, and could potential lose out on, if he is suspended 2 years. He missed about a year already + 2 more years. That's about 6 fights roughly. So maybe $40 million, if not more? Plus sponsors. Some expensive ass mistakes he's made.

Wow. Holy shit. What a waste of talent and athleticism.

 

[Robbie Hart]

This is why he was crying........why can't there be more natural fighters to match the days when I wrestled.....the most you would find in our systems was pepperoni, salami (not the kind you all are used to in your ass), provolone and oil and vinegar and a shit load of bread.....

 

[Robbie Hart]

Wow. Holy shit. What a waste of talent and athleticism.

Yes, but what got hom to the game and made him the best before they were surprise testing? He's not the "natural" athlete/phenom we thought he was......

 

[Stillmatic]

Yes, but what got go to the game and made him the best before they were surprise testing? He's not the "natural" athlete/phenom we thought he was......

speculation your honor

 

[Robbie Hart]

speculation your honor

Speculation is accumulation

 

[Stillmatic]

Speculation is accumulation

you win

 

[Punch]

This is why he was crying........why can't there be more natural fighters to match the days when I wrestled.....the most you would find in our systems was pepperoni, salami (not the kind you all are used to in your ass), provolone and oil and vinegar and a shit load of bread.....

I wouldn't say I'm used to it...

 

[Tiiimmmaaayyy]

Hopefully for his sake he doesn't continue to follow the path paved by Mayhem.

 

[Yossarian]

speculation your honor

 

[megatherium]

What's the deal with UFC taking it upon themselves to do such stringent testing anyway? To my knowledge the NFL doesn't test for steroids at all, or if they do now it's easy to for everybody to get around. Do they really care if Zach Arnold has a fit over on his blog? Jeezus, talk about a self defeating initiative.

 

[sparkuri]

I don't buy 8 figures for one second, unless we're including the pennies column.
Then barely 9 figures.

 

[WoodenPupa]

He's very lucky to have made it as far as he did. He could have, and in all likelihood should have, crashed and burned (literally) much sooner. Think of all the drunken coked up episodes we'll never know about...how many times he walked the edge, in all kinds of ways, over the years. It's just flat out amazing that his career didn't completely derail 4-5 years ago, right after he became champ.

So contrary to the thought that his career has been a tragedy, he's actually been extremely lucky, even when you factor this latest FUBAR situation in. And unless we learn otherwise, it looks like he'll STILL be hanging on to that rabbit's foot.

Yep, he'll have to sit out for two years---and then? He'll be right back in the loop with some nice paydays awaiting. Can he fuck that up? Of course---if anybody can, he can. But suppose he gets his act halfway together---he's still got a career at the end of this latest soap opera, and even if he sucks when he comes back, he should still be able to book a handful of 7-figure paydays before bowing out. It's not like he has to start thinking about going back to college. He'll be thirty, and if he continues to train up to that time, he'll still be in his physical prime, or close to it.

Of course, I don't think anybody believes he's going to get his shit together---count me in that crowd. But if he can somehow recognize how unbelievably fortunate he's been over the years, that might be a key to start an ethical revolution in himself, to finally start walking the path toward becoming a decent human being.

It's not over for Jones---not even CLOSE, unless he wants it to be over.