Former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou claimed the heavyweight title after decisively defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. In the meantime, one of the all-time greats of the sport, Jon Jones was eyeing the title. His return was big news, and he was planning on climbing up to the heavyweight division, which meant – a dream fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
In an old post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Ngannou talked about a match against Jones. As recent clashes between Ngannou and Jones have been intensifying, the post-fight interview resurfaced on social media.
Rogan asked Francis Ngannou about a possible Jones match post-UFC 260
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A stumping victory over Stipe Miocic gave Ngannou the morale boost he needed. When Joe Rogan asked him what he thought about Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight to fight for the title, Ngannou had a few things to say.
Ngannou shared, “Absolutely. I mean, uh, for my opinion, Jon Jones is the greatest of all the time, for mixed martial arts. And, uh, him moving up is going to be a good thing. It’s a challenge that I will take and put it in my record. It would be good challenge for me – very good thing on my resume. But this time he’s gonna be the challenger. I am the champ. He’s coming up and uh, looking for me.”
This was Ngannou’s post fight interview at UFC 260. Francis stated he’d be ready as soon as July of 2021 to fight Jones…Jones didn’t end up making his return to the octagon until 2 years after this interview. But it’s all Francis’ fault… pic.twitter.com/OPmtE7dYIP
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) May 22, 2023
“So… Any time soon, you know. Even summer I’ll be here ready to fight – in July or August – whenever. You ready, I’m ready! He say something like ‘Show Me The Money” – show the money and we go, baby! I’m here.”
Jones vs. Ngannou – An impossibility?
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After making his return to the UFC and wiping the floor with Ciryl Gane, Jon Jones is ruling comfortably as the UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou, who had to forfeit his title to the UFC owing to a difference in opinion with Dana White, has signed on with PFL, thereby ruling out all possibilities of a match between the two crowd favorites.
While a clash isn’t possible between the two, they have been trading shots on social media. ‘The Predator’ recently revealed he was ready to take on Jones “Whenever, wherever” in the PFL.
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What do you think about the Ngannou-Jones beef?
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