Jon Jones put forth his best performance in four years, beating a tough-as-nails Stipe Miocic via TKO in the third round at UFC 309. The finish came via a spectacular spinning back kick with the former heavyweight champion visibly hurt, followed by ground and pound to finish the fight. As much as the MMA world was reminded of Jon Jones’ dominance, fans were left teary-eyed as ‘Stone Cold’ announced retirement during his post-fight conversation with Joe Rogan.

Of course, the 42-year-old’s talks of retirement were looming large. Stewing for more than three years since his last fight and a year’s delay for his shot at Jones, it wasn’t more than a week ago that Miocic talked about how winning against Jones would top the exhilaration of the previous two title wins.

“They’re all special,” Miocic said. “But maybe this one, I think, because it’s the Mecca; it’s Jon Jones. It doesn’t get any better than that. Or bigger.”

But the 14-year veteran looked far from his best on Saturday, and dreams of joining MMA great Randy Couture as the only UFC fighters with three title reigns in one division faded away quick and easy. Post-fight, when Joe Rogan asked what’s next for me, Miocic answered, “I’m done. I’m hanging them up. I’m retiring. Thank God.”

In homage to Stipe Miocic’s legendary career, his former 2-time opponent Francis Ngannou shared a heartfelt tribute in an Instagram post soon after UFC 309 concluded. ‘The Predator’ shared a picture of himself, hugging ‘Stone Cold’ following his defeat at UFC 260. In the caption, he wrote,

“Thank you, champion @stipemiocic , for all you’ve done for our sport and, above all, for the class you embody and the example you set. I’m grateful for how our battles have shaped me into a better fighter; those moments taught me more than years in the sport.
Enjoy your well-earned retirement and best wishes for all your future endeavors.”

He ended his message by branding the 42-year-old former heavyweight fighter a ‘legend in the sport’. Right after Ngannou shared the message on the social media platform, ‘Bones’ happened to come across it. The heavyweight champion didn’t say much except dropping a goofy, nerdy emoticon at the Cameroonian’s Instagram post.

Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have a long history of calling each other out, particularly since ‘The Predator’ claimed the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260. Back then, Jones expressed an interest in moving up to heavyweight and challenging Ngannou for the title. However, that fight never materialized since the UFC’s contract negotiations for both Jones and Ngannou didn’t bear fruit. Instead, Francis Ngannou ended up leaving the UFC and his belt behind, opening up the vacant title for Jon Jones to claim in the process.

The fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou had the potential to be the greatest heavyweight fight in UFC history. However, one can assume that UFC president Dana White had his head driven up the wall when negotiating with both fighters to make that happen. This is apparent in his sharp reactions to the mention of Francis Ngannou or when people bring up Jones vs. Ngannou.

Will Dana White let Jon Jones fight Francis Ngannou?

Francis Ngannou and Dana White never had the best relationship, and it worsened after ‘The Predator’ left the UFC as champion, to join the PFL. Since then, the two have been locked in a heated battle, with both making tall claims and debunking each other at the first opportunity. For example, White claimed that Ngannou didn’t make more money from boxing than he did in his UFC run. On the other hand, Ngannou reportedly made $10 million in his boxing match against Tyson Fury and $40 million against Anthony Joshua.

With them locked in the heat of battle, it seems likely that Dana White doesn’t like Francis Ngannou at this point, especially with the former UFC heavyweight champion’s continuous defiance of him. So, you’re not going to get brownie points for concluding that White doesn’t favor a matchup between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. In a conversation with the media at UFC 295 press conference, White said, “No, I’m not interested in that [fight between Jones and Ngannou]. We tried to make that fight; they didn’t want to do it, and it’s done. I’m not interested. We’ve got one, two, and three [top-selling pay-per-views in the MSG]; they [the PFL] can’t sell a f—ing gate.” 

White’s claims of both Jones and Ngannou not wanting to fight were debunked by ‘The Predator’, “So many times we sat down to make the fight and they said, ‘Oh it can’t happen, Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight anymore.’”

It is pretty clear that the fight will never materialize as long as Jones is still signed to the UFC. It’s even more unlikely for the UFC heavyweight champion to fight Ngannou under the PFL banner. ‘Bones’ made sure to let the world know that he had no intention of retiring after UFC 309. With about 2 more fights left in his UFC career, we’re not sure if Jon Jones will end up facing Ngannou anytime soon. 

What are your thoughts on Jones’ comment on Ngannou’s IG post? Do you think these heavyweights will clash at some point? Let us know what you think in the comments below.