Jon Jones vacates UFC light heavyweight title
Jon Jones is out of the light heavyweight picture in the UFC. He is no longer the UFC light heavyweight champion.
In a shocking turn of events, Jones announced he will vacate the light heavyweight title. This comes as a surprise to everyone. Just two nights ago, Jones was hinting a return to the octagon.
It appears Jones and the UFC could not come to an agreement and Jones has decided to sit out.
The former champion took to Twitter to announce the news.
“Just got off the phone with UFC, today I confirm that I’m vacating the light heavyweight championship,” Jones tweeted. “It’s officially up for grabs.
“It’s been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, UFC and most importantly you fans.”
“The last I spoke with UFC about my salary there was no negotiating,” Jones said. “If that ever changes, I’d love to come back and compete again as a heavyweight. Until then, I’ll be enjoying UFC [as] a fan and doing my best to take care of my family and community.
“In good faith I will be staying in the [USADA] testing pool for probably the next half year or so. I’ll continue to lift weights and train all the different martial arts.”
Jones has decided to continue to stay inside the United States Anti-Doping Agency. This will allow him to return to the octagon at any time if he chooses to.
The UFC has moved on and will continue to move forward without Jones at least for the immediate future.
Rumors of a light heavyweight title fight between Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz have already surfaced. 
“Breaking: A 205-pound fight between Dominick Reyes (@DomReyes) and Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) is in the works for Sept. 26. The fight is nearly agreed to, but the stakes are being worked out. UFC is working with current champ Jon Jones right now to figure out his next move.”
ESPN reporter, Brett Okamoto announced that the UFC is planning to book the fight for Sept. 26. It has not been officially announced but it appears as though the UFC may book the fight for the undisputed light heavyweight title.
Jones has been out of the public eye for the past few months following a disagreement with the UFC regarding pay. Jones had expressed interest in moving up to heavyweight for a potential fight against Francis Ngannou. Later, Jones revealed that talks with the UFC went south and his demands were shut down by the UFC.
UFC president Dana White admitted Jones was asking for an “absurd” amount of money to fight Ngannou.
