“Jon Jones definitely has more tools in his pocket than Stipe, but I’m not sure he’s tougher than Stipe though”.
Francis Ngannou still thinks a superfight with Jon Jones is ‘the No. 1 fight’ to make but believes Stipe Miocic might be the tougher opponent.
Ngannou, who KO’d Miocic to win the heavyweight title at UFC 260, spoke to heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson about his dream of fighting Jones in a ‘Rumble in the Jungle’-type event, a reference to Muhammad Ali’s iconic boxing match with George Foreman in 1974.
“Everybody in this position would like to get compensated,” Ngannou said of Jones on the “Hotboxin’ podcast (via MMAJunkie). “Basically, a guy like Jones, he’s been around for very long and been doing this sport, and (the UFC) grows. I think there’s nothing wrong about (wanting to get paid more). But I don’t know what the deal is. I would like that fight to happen – that would definitely be the No. 1 fight.”
“I think they can recreate ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – the idea,” he added. “That would be something dope, and I’m definitely going to be a part of that. I wish they’d do it pretty soon, maybe something with Jones. We’re going to recreate ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’ That’s something epic, and now that Africa stands as a figure of combat sports, we have to go back to that.”
Ngannou thinks Jones has more tools in his arsenal than Miocic but believes Stipe is the tougher man.
“Jon Jones definitely has more tools in his pocket than Stipe, but I’m not sure he’s tougher than Stipe though”.
Jones has been back-and-forth with the UFC amid growing frustrations over fighter pay but the former light heavyweight champ believes the Ngannou fight is destined to happen.
“I think it’s gonna happen. I think the UFC eventually will do the right thing. I think this is one of the greatest fights of our generation and it would be really sad if it weren’t to happen. I believe that it will. It would be a real tragedy [if it didn’t happen]. It’ll happen.”