Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou is a matchup that hasn’t left the conversations, even though it was expected to ensue about 2 years back. But ‘The Predator’s victory over Renan Ferreira via ground-and-pound has brought the discussion back into focus. Yet, there is a hurdle that makes the fighting community doubt if Ngannou would ever get to fight Jones. After all, the Cameroonian was signed to PFL, while Jones was in the UFC. But Kamaru Usman seemed to believe that it was indeed a fight to make. 

Talking to Henry Cejudo on their talk show, ‘Pound4Pound’ podcast, the former UFC welterweight champion said, “There’s only one fight. Francis and Jon Jones. If he’s going to go back to MMA, there’s only one fight for him. The fight 100% can be made now. UFC is going into Saudi Arabia.” And the man who could make this happen was none other than Sheikh Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia. 

When Cejudo asked ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ to confirm His Excellency’s role in the matchup, Usman pointed out that the final decision lay with Dana White. He said, “Absolutely. Of course, it has to come through the big man. Of course, Mr Dana White.” However, ‘Triple C’ wasn’t ready to believe that the UFC head honcho would ever let the fight happen. He pointed out that White was a pretty good businessman. And to let a man like Ngannou fight his champion was a pretty dangerous venture. He believed that White would probably oppose Sheikh Turki Alalshikh.

Nevertheless, Kamaru Usman stuck to his claims. After all, what businessmen were following was money. And a fight between Francis Ngannou and ‘Bones’ has the potential to earn heaps of green bills. The former champ stated, “If it makes money, it makes sense. And I think Dana White… And Dana White has shocked… I mean, Dana has shocked him, even himself before. Dana had said, ‘Oh, women will never fight in the UFC.’ What happened? I think if it makes dollars, it makes sense.”

Dana White has talked about the matchup on several occasions. But with Riyadh season booming through the fighting community, the fight fans might just get to see Jones finally taking on Ngannou.

Sheikh Turki Alalshikh might convince Dana White to let Jon Jones fight Francis Ngannou

Not too long ago, the UFC CEO revealed that it was, in fact, the Cameroonian, who refused to fight ‘Bones’ a couple of years back. Meanwhile, Ngannou came out clean that he never really ducked a fight against Jon Jones. The heat continued to well up between White and Ngannou, and the two continued to lash out at each other for quite some time. But now, things began to change with Ngannou’s return to the MMA realm. White finally affirmed that the fight might become a reality in a press conference. 

White said, “Well, I actually respect Sheikh Turki, he’s a nice guy. We have actually formed a relationship over the last couple of months. I respect what he has done with boxing. This is the only guy that could pull this off and make these big fights. And the fights are good, you don’t have guys coming in and avoiding fights so they can get to the next payday. What this guy has done in a short amount of time is pretty incredible, so we’re obviously talking about lots of different options with this guy. I respect him. I like him, so we will see what the future holds.”

On top of White’s words, Ngannou also seemed to have faith in Sheikh Turki Alalshikh to get him a fight against the UFC heavyweight champion. He confirmed that there was indeed a possibility of the fight materializing in 2025. And White might just have to oblige Sheikh Turki Alalshikh if he ever puts up his request for the bout. 

What are your thoughts about the matchup? Who do you think would win if Ngannou and Jones really fought each other in an MMA cage? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.