Jon Jones’s new advisor is saying all the right things to give fans hope that we could see a Jones vs. Ngannou deal reached this year.
There is no secret what prompted Jon Jones to retain the services of veteran boxing promoter and business executive Richard Schaefer. Jones is currently making the transition to heavyweight, and he is hoping that his UFC salary bulks up along with his weight gains. This is especially true if he is expected to take on behemoths like new UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, an opponent dwarfed only by the magnitude of a Jones/Ngannou clash.
Unfortunately, those talks hit a wall right out the garage. And after Jones separated from his old management team, First Round Management, Schaefer has been hired to put things back in gear and ensure that Jones vs. Ngannou reaches its rightful destination of the UFC record books (transcription via Simon Samano).
“There’s this big fight out there, the fight against Francis Ngannou,” Schaefer said in an MMA Today interview. “That’s the fight everybody wants to see. That’s what fight fans want to see – not just UFC fans, fight fans period – and that’s really my task, is to see if there’s a way to get that fight done and represent Jon Jones the legend against UFC, to see if we can get it done.”
Minutes after the partnership between Jones and Schaefer was announced, UFC President Dana White praised the move. He also implied that if there is a way for the Jones/Ngannou deal to get done, Schaefer is the guy to help make it happen. Schaefer shares in White’s optimism and revealed that an initial meeting to discuss the superfight is looming.
“Dana and me have a great relationship. We respect each other. We’ve known each other for a long time. And I think you saw that yesterday with his comments, as well,” Schaefer said. “I respect him; he respects me. I know the pay-per-view business as good as probably anyone; so does he. It’s really a matter of finding some common ground, so we will be meeting soon to see if we can structure a deal that everybody can live with.”
No More Twitter Negotiations?
Prior to Schaefer’s arrival, all the negotiations for the fight had taken place in the public eye. This has led to tempers flaring and egos growing, culminating in a blinking contest where no one wins.
“When you start negotiating fights in the media, and people are starting to dig in their heels and say, ‘Well, this is too much,’ and people who maybe even aren’t supposed to talk are throwing out crazy numbers, which didn’t even come from the athlete himself, and people are getting pissed off at each other, that’s not the way you get deals done,” Schaefer said. “These (big fights) don’t get done through the media and Twitter and Instagram and things like that. They get done by professionals sitting down at the table talking about the different revenue streams and negotiating a deal. … That’s really the problem, because otherwise things get out of hand….
“That’s exactly what I just said. I’m gonna be meeting with them, we’re gonna sit down, and you’re not gonna hear from me a peep until such time when that peep is gonna be, ‘Guys, we have a fight,’” Schaefer said. “Anything in between, like tweeting or messaging or talking, is just counterproductive, and I’m not gonna get caught up in that. That is exactly why I delivered the biggest fights there were in the last 15, 20 years in boxing.”
So what ultimately makes Richard Schaefer the guy to get this deal done? Schaefer provided what is tantamount to a closing argument below in a pitch that may resemble the one that sold Jones on retaining his services.
“I think I understand the pay-per-view business better than most. I know the different revenue streams probably better than most. Because, again, I have done millions and millions and millions of pay-per-view buys, promoted some of the biggest pay-per-view events of all time, so I know what the different revenue sources are,” Schaefer said. “It’s a matter of sitting down and seeing if we can structure a deal, which everybody can live with. I don’t know the MMA managers. I don’t know who the other MMA managers are. And I frankly don’t care. I have one task, which is to deliver to Jon that fight, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to do that based on my experience, based on my great relationship with Dana, and see if we can turn out what I think can be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event of all time.”
Does Richard Schaefer’s remarks make you optimistic of a Jones/Ngannou deal being reached?
