“I’m sorry, I’m not being a hater on Jones for saying that. I’m being pro-Ngannou.”
Daniel Cormier might be the reigning heavyweight champion, but the general consensus is that Cameroonian knockout artist Francis Ngannou is ‘the baddest man on the planet’ right now.
Ngannou, who is currently on a three-fight KO streak against Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, is so dangerous that UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes ‘The Predator’ would be the first man finish pound-for-pound phenom Jon Jones inside the Octagon.
Jones has flirted with a move up to heavyweight in the past and, if he accepted a fight with Ngannou, ‘The Count’ believes it would end badly for the light heavyweight king.
“I can’t help but think that Francis Ngannou pretty much knocks out everybody right now,” podcast host Bisping said on a recent episode of Believe You Me (h/t Cole Shelton of BJPenn.com). “Of course I think ‘DC’ would be the worst matchup. ‘DC’ would be the worst matchup because of the wrestling. And of course Stipe (Miocic) beat him as well, so we can’t do a disservice to Stipe. But I’ve got a feeling Ngannou would beat Jones. I just do. I know Jones is a good wrestler, he’s got a real nice, fast double leg entry. But I don’t know, I reckon Jones vs. Ngannou, Ngannou takes it.
“I’m telling you, Ngannou connects with Jon Jones flush, Jones is going to sleep. That’s a fact. I’m sorry, I’m not being a hater on Jones for saying that. I’m being pro-Ngannou.”
Jones is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight title against Thiago Santos in the UFC 239 main event. The PPV extravaganza, which features a co-headlining championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm as well as a pivotal welterweight matchup between Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal, takes place tomorrow night, July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.