Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones is a fight that everyone wants to see. The bout can skyrocket UFC ranking through the roofs and Jones would have a bombastic comeback. However, ‘The Predator’ decided to leave because of some altercations with the promotion regarding the contract last year and is not on good terms with the UFC CEO, Dana White. While the UFC fans were devoid of seeing two great heavyweights going against each other in the octagon, Jones and Ngannou do share mutual respect as reflected by the former’s latest post on X.

Jon Jones has been away for over a year because of injury and is rumored to be making a comeback to the Octagon in November this year with a clash against Stipe Miocic. The two were scheduled to fight last year, but the champion’s injury derailed the plans and Jones wishes to continue with the same following his return. However, this has not gone well with many fans and analysts as they demand a Jones vs Tom Aspinall fight, considering the latter is the interim heavyweight champion in the promotion.

Moreover, Miocic is deemed an easy opponent for the current champion, as he is way past his prime and hasn’t fared well in the recent past. Taking a dig at people’s opinions of the 42-year-old and drawing a comparison with Francis Ngannou’s situation, Jones wrote on X, “Man, I appreciate the boss and the comments he made at last night’s press conference. Sounds like I have some massive options on the table, an athlete’s dream. Right now I need to get back to focusing on the task at hand. Despite what some of the casuals think, Stipe is no joke.”

“It’s crazy that we live in a world where you can go from the best heavyweight ever to washed up after a bad performance. The reality is Francis would’ve knocked out 98% of people on the planet that night, but somehow Stipe is washed up. Stipe not competing in so long tells me that he’s had plenty of time to heal and rebuild. Let me get back to focusing on the actual task at hand, that’s what got me this far. My focus, I do what others can’t,” he added.

Jones inadvertently defended Ngannou, even if the UFC was trying to wipe his records. Notably, a controversy erupted after the 37-year-old’s name and references were edited out of the UFC 305 Countdown video. Israel Adesanya was one of the first fighters to openly bash the promotion for the same, and it resulted in Dana White clearing in his recent press conference that he wasn’t aware of this move by the production team.

“When you asked me about that, I didn’t know anything about it. But someone was editing that and made a conscious decision, thinking that was the right thing to do, that that’s what we would have wanted, what I would have wanted,” Dana White revealed during the recent DWCS presser.

“I didn’t know about it and that was nothing that ever came across my desk. I’m in charge of everything production-related, so at the end of the day, the fact that it happened falls on me 100 percent. It’s my responsibility and I accept it. Blame me for that,” Dana White added.

Jones, on the other hand, recently even gave a hint that he might move to ADCC 2026. He even attended the event in 2024 and showed up for the Gordon Ryan bout. However, this might just be a tactic to gain a better contract from the UFC. 

Jon Jones proposes an idea to Dana White

While Jones has not shown much of an interest in the fight against Tom Aspinall, he recently went to his X account to give Dana White and the UFC a hint. Tom Aspinall has been wanting to fight Jones, but the matchup seems unlikely with the current champion often hinting at retirement following the fight against Miocic. However, he might decide against hanging his boots if the CEO offers him a better deal as indicated in a recent tweet.

‘Bones’ gave a hint by which he might continue his reign in the promotion and fight the interim champ. Jones wrote on X, “It feels good to know on the way out your sport was begging you to continue. You never know maybe the UFC will offer me a deal I can’t refuse.” It might not be difficult for Jones to get a lucrative contract, as Dana White recently defended him against the rumors of backing out from the fight against Francis Ngannou.

“The fight against [Francis Ngannou] did not happen and let me tell you what, it was not because of Jon Jones. He wanted Francis. You saw what happened with Ciryl Gane. He will tell you like he told us, that he would do the same thing to Francis Ngannou. He wanted that fight so bad. You can’t make people fight and we can’t make Francis fight,” White claimed during the press conference.

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