Amidst the noise of fans calling for Jon Jones to fight Tom Aspinall, another cracking matchup had seemingly been forgotten about. Before Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champ at UFC 295, perhaps the biggest potential bout that fans were clamoring for was Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou. Ngannou after all was the lineal heavyweight champ of the UFC until early last year, and he was expected to be Jon Jones’ first opponent in the UFC’s heaviest division.

The Cameroonian, however, exited the UFC on acrimonious terms after falling out with Dana White and co. over fighter pay. Jones had to settle for Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, whom he beat in a pretty one-sided bout last March to become the new heavyweight champion of the UFC. And while the door seemed closed on a possible fight, Joe Rogan and former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson salivated over the newly emerging possibility of a fight between Ngannou and Jones.

Joe Rogan excited at the prospect of Jones-Ngannou at 270

Shortly after leaving the world’s biggest MMA promotion, Francis Ngannou signed a new and more favorable contract with the Professional Fighting League (PFL), on the terms that he had demanded from the UFC. It is because of this contract that he was to go and box top heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, despite being on the PFL roster. However, Joe Rogan, joined by ‘Rampage’ on episode #159 of the JRE MMA show, was still hopeful that Jones-Ngannou was at least in the realm of possibility.

The long-time UFC commentator pointed out that UFC CEO Dana White had not shut the door on a possible bout between the two, which has gotten a fillip courtesy of the Saudis. The monarchy, of course, has proceeded to invest ludicrous amounts of money in sports over the past half a decade, trying to promote Saudi Arabia as a sports tourism hub. And White, in recent interviews, has hinted that he may be persuaded by the Saudi official to do a cross-promotion with the PFL for a fight between the heavyweight titans, doubtlessly for a significant amount of money.

“I’m happy that he made money but I wish he would have made that money in the UFC. I wish, my dream fight was at heavyweight, Jon Jones and Francis… There was actually an article that I read this morning that with the Saudis you know the UFC is now doing shows in Saudi Arabia, that Dana is not opposed to the possibility of a joint promotion with Jon Jones versus Francis,” Rogan said hopefully.

Like all MMA fans, Jackson was totally on board for a possible Jones-Ngannou bout and agreed that it would be a ‘huge’ event. ‘Rampage’ also felt that given their stylistic matchup, the reigning UFC champ would be smart enough to take Ngannou to the ground and deal with him there instead of trying to strike with the Cameroonian. ‘The Predator’ is one of the most fearsome strikers in UFC history and holds devastating, one-punch knockout power in his hands.

“That would be huge. With all due respect I think Jon Jones is a smart enough fighter to not fight Francis’ fight on that one, though. Jon Jones, he ain’t no dummy, he’s a smart fighter. I always say Jon Jones is Neo… Yeah, that kid, his mind is so strong I think that he would desperately try to get Francis down and submit him. He won’t be dumb enough to stand,” Jackson opined.

Rogan largely agreed, observing that Jones wasn’t known for his punching power and did his best work on the ground. “No, he won’t stand with him. No Jon, as good as he is, has never been like a one-punch knockout guy. You know, he beats guys up and strangles them and beats them up on the ground,” Rogan added. But the clock seems to be ticking down on a possible bout between the two as Jones is close to calling it quits.

Jones adamant on fighting Miocic in what is expected to be his last fight

Most fans and analysts expect Jon Jones to retire after his next fight. The two-division champion is gearing up for Dana White’s pick for the heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic, sometime this year, maybe in September. ‘Bones’ has described this bout as “the most important fight” of his career, and sees it as a legacy-defining fight given Miocic’s GOAT credentials.

However, fans are not happy with this matchup. Many feel that the fight is essentially a dead rubber, with Jones expected to win. The reason for this is simple: Miocic is 41, last fought two years ago, where he got slept by Ngannou, and is approaching the end of his rope. What fans would like to see instead is Jones taking on interim champ Tom Aspinall, who will be a real challenge with his well-rounded game and mastery over literally every skill in the game.

Jones is adamant that he doesn’t want to fight the Englishman, to fans’ chagrin. With Jones expected to hang up his gloves after almost definitely defeating Miocic, there is not much time for the UFC to rope him in for a possible Ngannou fight. But since this is the UFC, anything can happen, including White offering Jones obscene amounts of money to fight Ngannou instead of Miocic. Because money, of course, is not an issue when the Saudis are involved.

What are your thoughts on the possible match-up suggested by Joe Rogan? Let us know in the comments below.