Dana White hopeful about Jon Jones returning to the Octagon; confirms Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor are retired for good

UFC president Dana White is hopeful about UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returning to the Octagon again, but there's no surety, believes the UFC frontman.

Jon Jones and the UFC have been going back and forth due to a disagreement regarding fighter pay for months and the light heavyweight champ even said that he does not mind sitting out if that helps the younger fighters get paid what they are worth. The UFC was reluctant to upgrade Jon Jones' contract for a potential superfight against Francis Ngannou, and that left Jones irate.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, White said he is still hopeful that Jones will fight inside the Octagon again. Then again, White remains unsure if the light heavyweight champ will return. In the same interview, White also confirmed that that both Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor are retired and, but that's not the case with Jon Jones as he’s not officially retired.

“I hope so, but that’s up to him. If he decides to never fight again that’s up to him. Jon Jones didn’t retire. We know where Jon Jones is at. Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor are retired. I think everybody is doubting Conor because he did it before. There weren’t any issues with more money. He wasn’t trying to get more money or do any of this stuff. He’s retired,” White confirmed.

As for Jon Jones, White said that the UFC has offered to discuss numbers with the former but "Bones" isn't willing to settle for a penny less than what he initially demanded.

“Listen, at the end of the day, Jon Jones has enough money to retire. he can retire. The whole Jon Jones thing has been a rollercoaster ride for many, many years. Nothing surprises me with Jon Jones. We’ve offered Jon Jones to come out and walk Jon Jones through the numbers and Jon Jones was like, “I don’t give a f*ck what the numbers are, I don’t care. This is what I want and that’s that,'” White said.