Jon
Jones is no longer under the umbrella of First Round
Management, the team which has represented the former light
heavyweight champion for the majority of his UFC career.
The Florida-based management group, headed by Malki Kawa and Abe
Kawa, announced the news via Twitter on Monday.
“After an 11-year journey as [Jon Jones’] management team, First
Round Management and Bones have amicably decided to part ways,” the
statement read. “We are proud of him and the work we’ve done. We
wish him the best going forward.”
After an 11 year journey as @JonnyBones
management team, First Round Management and Bones have amicably
decided to part ways. We are proud of him and the work we’ve done.
We wish him the best going forward.— FirstRoundMgmt (@FirstRoundMgmt)
April 26, 2021
Jones later confirmed the news in a post on his Instagram
account.
“It’s been an absolutely amazing journey,” Jones wrote. “Thank you
so much for all the memories, and business ventures. Wishing the
Kawa family and everyone over at First Round Management many
blessings moving forward. Glad to be able to call you guys friends
for life.”
The news comes as Jones has been involved in a public dispute with
UFC president Dana White regarding negotiations for a heavyweight
championship bout against Francis
Ngannou. White has claimed that Jones asked for $30 million,
and that the promotion is now moving forward with plans to book
Ngannou against Derrick
Lewis. Jones, meanwhile, has denied asking for that amount.
Regardless of how those talks play out, it appears that First Round
Management was not involved in preliminary discussions with the
promotion for a matchup with Ngannou. Malki Kawa denied that the
separation had anything to do with that deal in a statement
on social media.
“Sometimes it’s best to just walk away. Glad to have repped the
[pound-for-pound] best fighter in [Jon Jones] for the last 11
years,” Kawa wrote. “No this had nothing to do with his Ngannou
negotiations. Jon has been handling that negotiation on his own and
has been as he wanted to speak for himself when it came to the last
few fights, so no, sorry fans, you can’t blame me. We all agreed it
was just best to start over. [Abe Kawa] and I are working on a lot
of major things at [First Round Management] and sometimes you just
have to know when to say when.”
First Round Management still boasts a notable portfolio of
fighters, including Jorge
Masvidal, Demetrious
Johnson, Tyron
Woodley, Anthony
Pettis, Yoel Romero,
Derrick
Lewis, Dominick
Cruz, Jairzinho
Rozenstruik and Yair
Rodriguez, to name a few.
Jones, meanwhile, still hasn’t competed since defending his the
205-pound belt for a final time with a five-round verdict over
Dominick
Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.