These days, money isn’t everything to Jon Jones.

Before leaving the UFC heavyweight title vacant by deciding to retire, Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) had a title unification bout against then-interim champion Tom Aspinall on the table. It was a fight Jones didn’t want. So much so that he reportedly asked for $ 30 million to fight Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), a number thought to be too far from reality.

Apparently, the UFC called his bluff, and Jones still turned it down.

“Some of my motivations aren’t traditional anymore,” Jones said on Geoffrey Woo’s podcast. “I don’t think I care about what most fighters would care about. Most fighters wouldn’t turn down $ 30 million. They just wouldn’t do that. My goals are different than other people’s these days.”

Jones decided to retire, but when talks of a potential event on the South Lawn of the White House brewed, Jones’ competitive juices got flowing again. Jones’ “retirement” only lasted a few months, as he made it known he was returning in hopes of landing a spot on the card.

UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly stated in interviews that he’s unsure that Jones can be trusted with such a huge spot. In response, Jones has gone so far as to beg White for the opportunity, but has also decided to give the UFC boss space while he mulls it over.

If Jones does get the fight, he wants it to be against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira rather than current heavyweight titleholder Aspinall. Jones believes Aspinall will soon be an afterthought in MMA, while Pereira has already built a lasting brand as a fighter.

“He has the ‘it’ factor,” Jones said. “He’s blessed in some way. He just has ‘it.’ It really can’t be taught. You can’t have a publicist that come and show you how to become someone like that. There’s just some people that people just get behind. They don’t know why they love them or why they hate that person. Some people just have that thing about them that just makes you want to pay attention.”

In Jones’ eyes, Aspinall is a quitter. “Bones” believes he’s picked up on Aspinall’s character trait by how he reacted to injuries during his fights. Jones would have wanted to see Aspinall try to get up and stand when his knee blew out against Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall required surgery for a torn MCL and meniscus, plus damage to his ACL. Jones also didn’t like how Aspinall reacted to a severe eye poke recently against Ciryl Gane, which led to a no contest in the first round.

While tearing down Aspinall’s character, Jones pumped up Pereira. Jones sees Pereira as one of the rare personalities in MMA who stand out among the rest, like Conor McGregor or Jake and Logan Paul.

“Pereira, literally, some of the only things he says is, ‘Chama,'” Jones said. “And people are (yelling), ‘Chama!’ No one even knows what it means, but he has that ‘it’ factor. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to compete against Pereira. I felt as if the brand that he represents and the energy that he has behind him will be remembered more than just five years from now.

“For example, Aspinall just had a close fight, and people are already writing him off. His journey hasn’t even started yet and he’s already almost moved on. I feel like Pereria, fighting a guy like that, it would just bring so much more to the table for me.”

Pereira is a fight that Jones hopes comes together at the White House, so he can continue to prove people wrong. At this stage, as a 38-year-old fighter who has already etched his name throughout the history books, money alone won’t motivate Jones to fight anymore.

“One of the greatest motivations is to continually prove people wrong of what I’m capable of,” Jones said. “There’s fighters that thought, ‘Man, he should have never made it this far. He drinks, or he stays out late. He eats McDonald’s. Why is he the champion?’ I love proving those people wrong. The people that are like, ‘Oh, well he doesn’t speak well enough, or he doesn’t do this right. No way he can go on and be this great promoter or be this reliable business partner.’ I love to prove people wrong.

“It’s not a place of hate, it’s more about earning respect and realizing that I’m an immovable force that despite how you feel about me, you have to see me exist. You have to see me continue to smile and continue to move forward and to not be defeated easy. These are some of my motivations.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones explains why he rejected $ 30M UFC title fight