Billionaire ‘got involved' in failed Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall talks with Dana White as sum UFC icon snubbed revealed
SAUDI boxing bigwig Turki Alalshikh "got involved" in the UFC's ill-fated bid to book a super-fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, it's been claimed.
The huge heavyweight title unification bout officially fell through last weekend when the former undisputed titleholder announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.
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The UFC did everything in their power to make the mammoth melee, even agreeing to Jones' demands to be paid " F**K YOU MONEY".
Frustratingly for Dana White and the rest of the UFC brass, Jones performed a U-turn on the bout after agreeing to unify the belts.
And according to veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, the UFC were reluctant to meet Jones' demands for a historic payday until Saudi supremo Alalshikh entered the fray.
During the latest episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, he said: "Here's what we can unequivocally say.
"I told you months ago, the UFC wanted to make this fight.
"They did everything in their power to make this fight. Jon Jones asked for $30 million.
"They didn't want to give him $30 million (£22m). They negotiated. I heard from one source that even Turki [Alalshikh] got involved.
"He wanted to make the fight. They eventually got to the $30 million.
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"Jon said he was in. A couple of days later, he said he was out. And once he said he was out, he was never back in."
Alalshikh's alleged involvement comes as no surprise given the working relationship he has with the UFC's parent group, the TKO Group.
Jones' retirement, which was announced minutes before it was revealed he was recently charged with leaving the scene of a non-deadly accident, has resulted in Wigan warrior Aspinall being elevated from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion.
And the Atherton assassin has vowed to get the division moving again after Jones held it hostage for the best part of two years.
He said: "I am going to keep this thing as active as possible.
"I want to be the best heavyweight to ever walk the face of the Earth.
"I'm gonna defend this thing as many times as I possibly can and I'm gonna keep you guys entertained.
"I'm going to give back to everybody who has shown me support over the last year, over the last five years and over the last ten years.
"We're gonna see an active defending UFC heavyweight undisputed champion going forward."
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