Grant’s number is not up
Jones quit threat over cash fight with White
GRANT MCPHERSON has signed a new deal to stay at Milton Keynes – four years after his No.9 shirt was retired and hung in the rink rafters
The Scot, 33, made a successful comeback last season and has now agreed a 12-month contract extension.
He said: “I’ve never heard of anyone else who has had his number
■ (above) retired and then asked for it to be taken down!”
The ex-great Britain Under-21 international retired in 2016 after a serious hip injury but made a ‘play-for-fun’ return to the ice more than a year later.
He did so well he was persuaded to make a
■ full-time National League return last season, chalking up his 500th senior appearance for the club.
Mcpherson, who made his MK debut in 2006, said: “When I quit I didn’t realise how much I’d miss it. You are a long time retired and, after having that time out, I want to carry on playing for as long as I can now – even if I have to wait for my shirt to go up again!”
JON JONES has threatened to vacate the UFC light-heavyweight title following a public pay dispute with president Dana White.
Jones has been engaged in a bitter war of words with the UFC chief following failed negotiations over a super-fight with heavyweight knockout artist Francis Ngannou.
The 32-year-old New Yorker wanted a significant pay rise for his long-awaited heavyweight debut, which the promotion has refused to give him.
‘Bones’ has been left furious by the UFC’S decision not to compensate him for moving up in weight and has threatened to leave his 205lb crown to be fought over by Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz.
“Reyes vs Jan for the UFC light-heavyweight championship of the world,” Jones said on Twitter. “As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them.”
He added: “To the lightheavyweight title Veni, Vidi, Vici (Latin for ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’).”
White is willing to let the future Hall of Famer walk away from the sport, despite Jones being one of the UFC’S biggest pay-per-view draws.
He said: “He can do whatever he wants to do – sit out or fight
“You know how this works. You know how I am. Jon Jones can say whatever he wants publicly and when he’s ready to come back and fight, he can.”
White considers Jones to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time but insists he will not meet his cash demands.
He said: “Being the greatest of all time doesn’t mean you get $30m. Being able to sell does. Jon Jones has done a lot of things to himself.
“In a tweet he said that I tarnished him. I tarnished you? You’ve done a very good job of tarnishing you.”
Jones is willing to return to the cage next year for a super-fight with middleweight king Israel Adesanya, but only if the UFC gives him a bumper new deal.
Jones said: “Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight.
“Hopefully you guys willing to pay by then.” will be