5 high-profile fighters who demanded their release from the UFC

#4. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion

Georges St-Pierre requested his release in 2021 in order to box Oscar De La Hoya, but it was denied

While Georges St-Pierre seemed to be the stereotypical company man during his reign as welterweight champion from 2006 to 2013, once he hung up the gloves, some cracks in his relationship with the promotion began to show.

St-Pierre was involved in an attempt to start a fighter’s union in late 2016. While the idea went by-the-by when the Canadian returned to beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in 2017, his refusal to defend the title quickly strained his relationship with Dana White in particular.

That may have been the catalyst for the UFC’s decision to refuse to grant St-Pierre his release in 2021 when the former champion wished to pursue a boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya.

It felt like a curious decision from the promotion, particularly as GSP had been retired for four years, wasn’t going to be fighting in MMA and the proceeds of the bout were reportedly to be given to charity.

However, to St-Pierre’s credit, he refused to throw heat at the promotion on social media. The issue was only reported when it was mentioned by Triller Fight Club CEO Ryan Kavanaugh in a shot at Dana White.

St-Pierre later went on to state that he wasn’t willing to sue the promotion for his release, claiming that it would make him look like the bad guy and was happier to wait for his contract to come to an end in 2023, leaving him free to pursue new avenues off his own back.

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#3. Jon Jones – former UFC light heavyweight champion

Jon Jones demanded his release from the UFC due to a dispute over his pay

While former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his employers during his reign as titleholder, when ‘Bones’ relinquished his title in 2020 to pursue a career at heavyweight, it seemed like a win-win scenario for both parties.

However, things quickly went wrong when the promotion simply couldn’t agree with Jones on exactly how much he was worth.

Whether you believe Dana White, who claimed that Jones was demanding "Deontay Wilder money" in the form of around $30m for a fight with Francis Ngannou, or ‘Bones’, who claimed White was lying about his demands, is still very debatable.

However, what was definitely undeniable was the fact that, at the time, Jones was desperate to get out of the UFC.

In a tweet that was eventually deleted by the former champion, ‘Bones’ stated “please, just cut me already” and then claimed that the organization had become “depressing” for him. He then pleaded with the promotion to “just f*cking let me go, let me take my business elsewhere.”

Unsurprisingly, White wasn’t willing to let one of his biggest draws go. While he did later state that the promotion had “moved on” from Jones with regards to the heavyweight title picture, ‘Bones’ remains part of the roster even if he hasn’t fought in over two years at this stage.