Ariel Helwani contradicts Dana White’s statement on Jon Jones and White House card

Dana White insisted Jon Jones was never considered for the UFC White House card, but Ariel Helwani says negotiations actually took place.

Interest around the proposed event has intensified after conflicting accounts emerged regarding the involvement of the former two-weight UFC champion.

At the UFC 326 post-fight press conference, White told reporters that Jones was never in the promotion’s plans for the card. However, Helwani claimed the UFC did attempt to book the 38-year-old before talks broke down.

Ariel Helwani says UFC failed to reach a financial agreement with Jon Jones for White House card

Helwani revealed on his YouTube channel that the UFC did consider securing Jones for the 14 June event, but the sides could not reach a financial agreement.

“I’ll tell you this: they did seriously try to have Jon Jones on this card, and they couldn’t get to the number,” the journalist revealed.

The comments suggest negotiations advanced further than publicly acknowledged, which contrasts with White’s statement after UFC 326.

”Never ever – which I told you guys 100,000 times – was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” the UFC boss said.

Ariel Helwani doubts Jon Jones was the mystery fight that fell off the White House card

Speculation intensified after White revealed last Friday that one confirmed matchup for the event collapsed shortly before the official announcement.

Clips of conversations between UFC matchmakers quickly circulated online, leading many fans to suspect that Jones may have been the fighter who withdrew at the last moment.

Helwani does not believe that is the case.

He said: “Now, a lot of people are talking about this fight that fell through. I don’t think that that’s the fight that fell through last night. That’s not what I was told.”