White: Jones wants 'absurd amount of money' for Ngannou fight

UFC president Dana White says a fight between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou won't happen right now because the former is asking for too much money.

"It's one thing if you come out and say, 'Yeah, listen, I want a little more money,'" White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Thursday.

"For the amount of money (Jones) is asking for, it's not gonna happen," White continued. "He couldn't be asking for a more absurd amount of money at a worse time."

White said earlier this week he'd like to see Jones defend his 205-pound title against Dominick Reyes or Jan Blachowicz in his next bout. Jones beat Reyes in February, but it was a close fight, and many thought Reyes won. Blachowicz, meanwhile, is coming off a first-round knockout of Corey Anderson.

"Is Jon Jones gonna go in and fight Francis Ngannou and then try to take a run at the heavyweight title? I don't believe that," White said. "He's never wanted to move to heavyweight before."

Jones and Ngannou, a top heavyweight contender, both said last week on social media they were interested in facing each other. "Bones" later claimed the UFC is unwilling to pay him more for the superfight while expressing frustration toward the promotion.