Jon Jones says Brock Lesnar could use him as leverage in WWE contract talks

Newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is doing everything in his power to land a superfight opposite WWE superstar Brock Lesnar. Despite competing inside of the Octagon just once since 2011, Lesnar remains one of the hottest tickets in mixed martial arts (MMA). That’s probably why Jones called out Lesnar during his victory speech after knocking off Daniel Cormier last month at UFC 214, and the reason why he’s comparing a potential showdown with Lesnar to Conor McGregor’s upcoming superfight with boxer Floyd Mayweather.

With all of that said, we really don’t know for sure how interested Lesnar is in returning to the Octagon against the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet. Jones doesn’t even know. In fact, the UFC light heavyweight champion acknowledges that Lesnar could be using their potential superfight as leverage in contract negotiations with WWE.

“I could see it being a leverage point to get paid the bigger bucks to stick around (with WWE) or come over to the UFC,” Jones said in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. “Either way, I think it would be great if he comes over to the UFC to get a gigantic payday, probably his biggest UFC payday. Now he has this as a leverage point from whichever direction he decides to go in. Good for Brock to have options.”

Speaking of options, Jones has plenty. Not only could he rematch Alexander Gustafsson or try his luck against rising contender Volkan Oezdemir, but the 30-year-old champion may very well take his talents to the heavyweight level and chase yet another UFC title. Of course, Lesnar would be Jones’ first choice.

“I asked my coaches how they felt about it and everyone said, ‘You know what, Jon? That’s a very winnable fight, and it’s such a huge payday – why not?'” Jones said. “I just kept it going and have been entertaining it, and now it’s taken off. It’s something that could be in the works.”

Whether or not a Jones vs. Lesnar superfight makes sense at this point, it’s yet another enticing matchup that the promotion can not pass up. Jones may be a bigger star than he ever was and Lesnar has delivered elite pay-per-view (PPV) results in the past. Only time will tell if the bout actually comes together or if Lesnar is using Jones to land more WWE cheese.