Not too long ago, the Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones matchup was the battle everyone wanted to see. Kinda how the current narrative is being dominated by the clash between Jones and interim champ Tom Aspinall. A contention of the absolute best! A gladiatorial combat and the victor destined for undisputed greatness. It is safe to say that ‘The Predator’ taking on ‘Bones’ could have been a fine recipe for money and stakes. So why did it not happen? Well, according to verbose analyst Chael Sonnen, it was mainly the former champ’s fault, even if Jones had some part to play in it.

“I don’t think we can continue going on as though Jones and Francis didn’t fight. I don’t think we can go on like that, that’s not what happened. Jones came after Francis Ngannou, period. Jon Jones respected and feared Francis Ngannou, period,” Sonnen said.

Jones, of course, announced in 2020 that he would be moving up to heavyweight. But ‘Bones’ wanted to do it the ‘right way’. And that took the GOAT contender a full three years, by which time Ngannou had left the promotion over a heavily publicized contract dispute. Even Sonnen feels that three years was perhaps too long, calling Jones’ desire to reach 240 pounds of muscle mass ‘arbitrary’.

“Because of that respect and because of that fear, Jon Jones laid a world championship down, walked away for three years from a paycheck, from everything to go in the weight room to gain some size so that he would have the confidence to bring down the big man. That’s what happened. Jon Jones put on that size which was an arbitrary number that he wanted to get to 300 or 240 lbs and you get to like 238 lbs” Sonnen added on his official YouTube channel.

But in the end, Sonnen, who seems intent on rewriting history, concluded that it was Ngannou’s fault that the fight never materialized since ‘The Predator’ left the promotion in early 2023.

“But either way, when he got there, he signed back up, he jumped back in the pool whatever that process was like for him. But he was coming there for one reason which was Francis… Francis and Jon stepped to the line one of them flinched. That’s the truth,” ‘Uncle Chael’ concluded. But that is not quite what happened! Let’s see.

Why do some think that Jon Jones ‘ducked’ Francis Ngannou?

After Jon Jones announced he would be moving to heavyweight, Dana White announced that his heavyweight debut would be for the title. And since Francis Ngannou became the undisputed champion in March 2021, it was clear that Jones-Ngannou would be next. But a few months later, the head honcho had bad news for the fans.

“We tried to work with Jon, and we eventually have to move on because realistically, and in all honesty, Derrick Lewis is the guy who deserves the fight… In his deal, he’s [Jones] talking he wants $30 million guaranteed,” the UFC CEO told Bill Simmons in an interview.

Of course, demanding $30 million guaranteed from the UFC is unrealistic, to say the least. Most fans saw this as Jones trying to price himself out of fighting Ngannou. On the other hand, ‘The Predator’ seemed very enthusiastic about fighting Jones at heavyweight.

“In my opinion, Jon Jones is the greatest of all time in mixed martial arts… He’s a challenge I will take, and it will be a very good thing on the resume… He’s coming up, looking for me. So I’m ready any time soon. Even summer, I will be here, ready to fight in July or August. Whenever they are ready, I’m ready,” Ngannou said after dethroning Stipe Miocic for the title at UFC 260.

As for Jones, he took two more years to actually fight. In fact, curiously, the GOAT contender was ready to fight as soon as it became clear that Ngannou would be leaving the UFC by late 2022, or early 2023. Almost as if Jones was waiting for ‘The Predator’ to leave. This is very different from Sonnen’s recollection of the events. What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on the Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones fight falling through?