UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones says he isn’t interested in fighting in his home state of New York.
“To be honest, I love being from New York, but my whole thoughts and dreams of fighting in New York, they’re kind of starting to fade,” Jones told MMAjunkie.
“Looking at it from a business standpoint, it’s not a really good idea to pay 9 percent to the state of New York off the top just for fighting here. With 9 percent of every $1 million, that will add up real quick.”
“I realize people from all over the world are going to watch it, whether it’s in Vegas or Canada or wherever. It would have been great to be the first person to fight at Madison Square Garden, but now that it’s happened and everything. I want to do it eventually, but it’s not something that’s a dream the way it used to be.”
At UFC 214, Jones regained his UFC title by knocking out Daniel Cormier.
After the fight, Jones called out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. However, Lesnar is currently suspended from the sport and won’t be able to fight for awhile.
In the meantime, Jones may defend his title against top contender Alexander Gustafsson, or Volkan Oezdemir, in his next fight.
