It`s claimed that Saudi boxing figure Turki Alalshikh was involved in the UFC`s unsuccessful attempt to arrange a major fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
This significant heavyweight title unification fight was officially cancelled last weekend after the former undisputed champion announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.
The UFC reportedly made significant efforts to arrange this massive fight, even agreeing to Jones` demand for what he termed “F**K YOU MONEY“.
However, to the frustration of Dana White and other UFC officials, Jones reversed his decision on the fight after initially agreeing to unify the heavyweight titles.
Veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani states that the UFC was hesitant to agree to Jones` request for a record payment until the Saudi figure Alalshikh reportedly became involved.
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.
Dana White confirms Jon Jones has retired from UFC with Tom Aspinall the new heavyweight champion.
Jones` retirement announcement, which came shortly before news broke of his recent charge for leaving the scene of a non-fatal accident, has led to Tom Aspinall being promoted from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion.
And Aspinall has pledged to revitalize the division, which he feels was held back by Jones for nearly 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.”