The battle of the Giants should have taken place nearly half a decade ago when Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou were both under the same banner. However, disagreements arose, leading the then-lineal heavyweight champion to leave the promotion without losing his belt. What was supposed to be a dream fight for MMA fans instead became one of the biggest “what ifs” in the sport’s history. Years have passed since, yet fans remain optimistic that these two goliaths may still face each other in the future. Amidst the ongoing buzz, Chael Sonnen has now stepped forward to reveal an uncommon truth about the fight.

Was the fight actually on the cards or was it just a gimmick by the UFC CEO Dana White? Many within the community believe that either of the fighters wanted to face each other but that fight was actually never offered in the first place and this might be a bit true considering the fact that UFC insider Chael Sonnen has come forward to give clarity on the topic. “I’m just sharing—it’s the same thing that you said about Sergei, but Jon accepted that fight. And it’s the same thing that many people, to this day, say about Jon and Francis. But that is fiction,” said Sonnen.

Coming clearly to the point ‘The American Gangster’ underscored that the people’s perception about Jon Jones turning down the fight was actually a hoax built upon by the media and nothing else. “Jon never turned down a fight with Francis. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Jon gave a belt back, moved into the division, and tried to put on some size because he was hunting down Francis. That’s just the way it happened. We got to tell the story the way that it happened,” said Sonnen.

So, how is the actual story unfolding from here on? Let us put together all of the facts to judge it from our own perspective, Jon Jones, who was the then light-heavyweight champion, dropped his belt to bulk up for the heavyweight division. It took some time, but just when their clash seemed inevitable, Dana White had a falling out with Francis Ngannou, who was frustrated with the promotion’s stringent contractual rules.

The UFC head honcho knew that Ngannou might not stick around with the promotion and they never actually announced the fight. Interestingly, in one of his conversations ‘The Predator’ even blamed the promotion for not announcing the battle when they were asking for it, “We both were asking for it.” 

However, the UFC CEO Dana White in his statement asserted that Ngannou ran away from the fight. “(Ngannou) didn’t want that fight (with Jones),” White told MMA Junkie after UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, “He could have stayed and took that fight. He didn’t want that fight.” So, in conclusion, White might never wanted to book a fight with the heavyweight considering the uncertainty and we know how much the UFC CEO hates ambiguity. Well, according to Chael Sonnen, the UFC might be doing the same thing with Tom Aspinall as well.

Chael Sonnen believes that Jon Jones has yet to be offered the Tom Aspinall fight

After successfully defending his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jon Jones asserted that he would not retire from the promotion, rather he would stick around for a while before walking out of the cage forever. As he delayed his retirement, Dana White was visibly shaking as now he had to boo a fight between him and Tom Aspinall, who is the interim heavyweight champion. Well, in order for the UFC CEO to make the fight happen, he would have to empty his pockets as Jon Jones has asked his “F— you money.” 

Many within the community believe that ‘Bones’ is willingly not taking the fight but is it the truth? According to Chael Sonnen, the fight has yet to be offered to the heavyweight champion, “Jon Jones has not spoken to us since the post-fight press conference where he said, I want F-you money. You don’t know if he changed his mind, realized he’s already getting it, or did get it. We don’t have any information. And so now there’s just a belief that that fight has been offered. There’s a belief that it’s being resisted. There’s a belief that it’s been offered and being resisted by Jon. But we don’t have that evidence.”

He further added, “I don’t believe that Jon Jones has officially been offered that fight.” ‘The American Gangster’ gave us a new perspective on the scenario. We do know that Dana White is trying to make that fight happen but has it been offered yet? Maybe not and it would be wrong to call out Jon Jones for that. In the light of the chaos, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.