Former UFC light heavyweight champion and top ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Jon Jones, has split with his longtime management team at First Round Management.
First Round Management announced on Monday that the company and Jones have parted ways via social media. “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,” the statement read.
Shortly after First Round Management made the announcement on Twitter, Jones confirmed the spit via his Instagram account, posting a photo of the firm’s Tweet and responding. “It’s been an absolutely amazing journey. 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,”
Management group head Malki Kawa stated on social media that First Round Management was not involved in any negotiations with the UFC for a potential fight between Jones and heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
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“Sometimes it’s best to just walk away. Glad to have repped the p4p best fighter in @jonnybonesfor the last 11years. 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. @abraham and I are working on a lot of major things at #frm and sometimes you just have to know when to say when,” wrote Kawa.
Jones (26-1, 1 NC) relinquished the 205-pound title in August 2020 to move up to the heavyweight division to try and capture a second UFC championship. He hasn’t fought since February 2020 at UFC 247.
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Jon Jones splits from longtime management team