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Jon Jones dismisses potential clash with Israel Adesanya, says Francis Ngannou is ‘Worth entertaining’

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has no interest in a potential superfight with middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya. Bones’ made his triumphant return to the Octagon in March, scoring a quick first-round submission victory over top contender Ciryl Gane to capture the vacant heavyweight championship. A month later, ‘The Last Stylebender’ delivered a highlight-reel-worthy knockout against […]

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has no interest in a potential superfight with middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya.

Bones’ made his triumphant return to the Octagon in March, scoring a quick first-round submission victory over top contender Ciryl Gane to capture the vacant heavyweight championship. A month later, ‘The Last Stylebender’ delivered a highlight-reel-worthy knockout against longtime rival Alex Pereira to reclaim the 185-pound crown. With both men perched firmly on their thrones once again, fans began to speculate about a potential superfight between the two top stars.

Well, don’t hold your breath. Despite making his first appearance in more than three years, Jon Jones does not have any intention of sticking around long. Dedicating his time left to a clash with general consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic, ‘Bones’ has zero interest in a champion vs. champion showdown with Israel Adesanya.

“I feel like my legacy and my career are past his,” Jones said in an interview with Fox Sports Australia. “If this was like an Instagram following competition then yeah, we’d be neck and neck. But when it comes to our body of work, there’s no competition and there’s no reason for me to compare myself to him.

“He’s done great things, and you know, people say there’s lots of room in the sky for many stars, and he is undoubtedly a star but I feel like our careers are really un-comparable. Not a fight that I need, no.”

Jon Jones Willing to Put a Pause on Retirement for Heavyweight War with Francis Ngannou

After 27 career wins and three world title reigns across two different divisions, Jon Jones has little left to prove in the world of mixed martial arts. Once he closes the door on his still-being-written chapter with Stipe Miocic, ‘Bones’ looks content to call it a career. But there is still one man that would keep him from hanging up the gloves permanently.

Yeah, I do believe a Francis Ngannou fight would be worth entertaining, not retiring, yeah, I think if a Francis fight would come with some serious revenue, and I think that would make it worth my while,” Jones explained. “Francis is a former champion, and he’s pretty damn popular here in America and across the world. He’s very well-known and it would bring in a lot of money, and for that, I would be willing to come back.”

Unfortunately, the chances of Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou happening inside the Octagon are no better than seeing Jones vs. Adesanya. After nearly two years of negotiations, the promotion parted ways with Ngannou. UFC President Dana White has stated on more than one occasion that ‘The Predator’ would never work for the company again after bending over backward trying to keep the Cameroonian on the roster.

Since becoming a free agent, Ngannou has made it difficult for promotions to acquire his services with both ONE Championship and the BKFC noting that the former UFC heavyweight champion was simply asking for too much. However, recent rumors suggest at least one company was willing to give in to Ngannou’s demands, striking a verbal agreement. No official announcement has been made, but the PFL looks to be that company.

Unless Jon Jones is planning to make his own jump from the Octagon to the Smart Cage, it’s probably time to give up on ever seeing the two larger-than-life combat sports stars go toe-to-toe.

Francis Ngannou hits out at two faced MMA promoters amid continued hiatus: ‘Some promoters, man’

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has labelled certain mixed martial arts promoters as two-faced amid his continued hiatus from active competition, as the Batié native remains sidelined from the sport since January of last year. Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight titleholder under the banner of the UFC, most recently headlined UFC 270 back in […]

Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight titleholder under the banner of the UFC, most recently headlined UFC 270 back in January of last year in a unanimous decision victory over former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane in the pair’s title unification clash.

Departing the UFC back in January of this year, Ngannou’s contractual obligations with the organization came to an end last December.

And in the time since, Ngannou has been linked with a slew of potential moves including a transition to professional boxing, as well as deals with ONE Championship and the PFL (Professional Fighters League).

Earlier this week, however, talks with Singapore-based organization, ONE Championship came to a screeching halt, with promotional boss, Chatri Sityodtong claiming Ngannou had rejected a $20,000,000 guaranteed contract to link up with the mixed martial arts outfit.

“He (Francis Ngannou) was asking for a seat at the board of directors, he was asking for him to determine his opponent’s pay,” Chatri Sityodtong said. “We offered him $20,000,000 guaranteed, the money was wasn’t enough, he wanted all of these other non-financial terms that didn’t make a lot of sense.”

“We obviously can’t give a seat at the board of directors, that doesn’t make any sense, he would be a fish out of water [in that position],” Sityodtong continued.

Francis Ngannou takes issue with MMA promoters in wake of UFC exit

And appearing to respond to Sityodtong’s comments, Cameroon knockout artist, Ngannou posted a picture of DC Comics character, Two-Face – with the caption, “some promoters, man”.

Winning the undisputed UFC heavyweight title back in March 2021, Francis Ngannou stopped former two-time division champion, Stipe Miocic with a devastating second round knokcout in the main event of UFC 260 title rematch in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chatri Sityodtong claims Francis Ngannou rejected $20million offer to join ONE Championship: ‘The money wasn’t enough’

ONE Championship leader, Chatri Sityodtong has today claimed that former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou rejected a cool $20,000,000 offer to sign with the Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion – claiming to the Batié native, “the money wasn’t enough”. Ngannou, 36, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been […]

Ngannou, 36, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined from active mixed martial arts competition since headlining UFC 270 back in January of last year against former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane.

Successfully unifying the division titles, Ngannou would then see his contractual obligations with the UFC come to an end in December of last year, before he was granted his immediate release from the Dana White-led promotion in January of this year.

Yet to pen terms on a contract with a promotion to make a return to mixed martial arts, Ngannou recently saw crunch talks with the above-mentioned, ONE Championship come to a screeching halt over the weekend, with the promotion withdrawing from the race to sign the Cameroonian.

Francis Ngannou already struck prior verbal agreement

In further developments last night, Francis Ngannou claimed that prior to his three-hour-plus meeting with ONE Championship over the weekend, he had already struck a verbal agreement with an undisclosed promotion ahead of an expected deal, potentially as soon as this week.

However, according to the above-mentioned Sityodtong, financial hurdles could not be traversed with Ngannou – who he claims rejected a guaranteed $20,000,000 deal to join ONE Championship.

“He (Francis Ngannou) was asking for a seat at the board of directors, he was asking for him to determine his opponent’s pay,” Chatri Sityodtong told The Daily Star during a recent interview. “We offered him $20,000,000 guaranteed, the money wasn’t enough, he wanted all of these other non-financial terms that didn’t make a lot of sense.”

“We obviously can’t give a seat at the board of directors, that doesn’t make any sense, he would be a fish out of water [in that position],” Sityodtong continued.

Francis Ngannou labelled ‘Best heavyweight fighter in the world’ amid UFC exit: ‘He deserves to be treated as such’

Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou departed the Octagon back in January with championship in tow, and according to professional boxer, Jake Paul, the Cameroonian – who he described as the “best heavyweight fighter in the world”, should be treated in accordance. Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, […]

Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, most recently headlined UFC 270 back in January of last year against former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane, landing a unanimous decision win in the pair’s title-eliminator clash.

In January of this year, however, Francis Ngannou was handed his UFC exit, stripped of his championship and removed from the official heavyweight rankings, having completed his contractual obligations with the organization.

Currently in promotional limbo ahead of an eventual mixed martial arts return and expected professional boxing debut, Ngannou, who revealed that he already has a verbal agreement in place to join an undisclosed organization, saw talks break down with ONE Championship break down over the weekend.

Francis Ngannou described as the best heavyweight fighter in the world

And according to Ohio native, Paul, Batié native, Francis Ngannou should be treated as the best heavyweight fighter in the world currently – a moniker he believes the former gold holder deserves.

“[It’s] funny how promoters always try to devalue fighters for their own benefit/narrative,” Jake Paul tweeted. “Francis (Ngannou) is the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world and he deserves to be treated as such.”

Funny how promoters always try to devalue fighters for their own benefit / narrative. Francis is the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world and he deserves to be treated as such. https://t.co/VBA5dnzQ9h

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 2, 2023

Winning undisputed UFC heavyweight gold back in March 2021, Ngannou stopped former two-time division champion, Stipe Miocic with a thunderous second round knockout in their title rematch.

In the immediate aftermath of UFC 270 in January of last year, Ngannou, 36, underwent reconstructive knee surgery to address a knee injury suffered in the weeks ahead of his title unification fight against Gane.

Report – Francis Ngannou reaches verbal agreement with promotion to make MMA return after ONE Championship snub

Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou reportedly already has a verbal agreement with an unspecified mixed martial arts promotion, with the view to signing an official contract, after talks with Singapore-based promotion, ONE Championship broke down this weekend. Ngannou, 36, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the UFC banner, departed the Dana White-led organization […]

Ngannou, 36, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the UFC banner, departed the Dana White-led organization back in January, having completed his contractual obligations with the promotion last December.

Leaving in less than ceremonious circumstances, the Cameroon striker was stripped of his undisputed heavyweight title, and removed from the official rankings, while the UFC waived their period of exclusive negotiating, allowing Ngannou to speak freely with other promotions.

Linked with a move to professional boxing in the immediate aftermath of his Octagon exit, Ngannou has yet to secure a deal to make what would be a debut in the squared-circle to boot.

Furthermore, the heavyweight knockout artist has been tipped to weigh up options with the likes of Bellator MMA, PFL (Professional Fighters League), and ONE Championship – however, both the former and latter organizations have withdrawn from the race to land his signature.

ONE Championship withdrew from talks with Francis Ngannou overnight

Holding crunch talks with the former heavyweight champion this weekend in Los Angeles, ONE Championship leader, Chatri Sityodtong confirmed overnight that his outfit had withdrawn from talks to sign the former, claiming a lack of “aligning” between the two.

“I met with Francis (Ngannou) yesterday for almost three hours,” Chatri Sityodtong said. “ONE has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding for Francis Ngannou’s services. After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. Francis is a good guy and a good champion. I wish him continued success and happiness.”

“At the end of the day, I didn’t feel like Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters,” Sityodtong explained. “It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”

In a recent development, mixed martial arts reporter, Ariel Helwani confirmed how he has spoke with Ngannou overnight to boot, with the latter confirming he already has a verbal agreement in place to sign with undisclosed mixed martial arts promotion, with an official announcement potentially on the horizon – as soon as this week.

Ariel Helwani reached out to Francis Ngannou this morning to get his side of the story.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/dInsw79awY

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 1, 2023

When questioned by Sityodtong why he attended the three-hour-plus sitdown in California, Ngannou claimed he wanted to respect the date the duo had arranged, and wanted hear the ONE Championship leader out.

Former UFC Champion Francis Ngannou Won’t Sign ONE Championship Contract After Talks

Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou won’t be signing with ONE Championship. “I met with Francis yesterday for almost three hours,” the company’s CEO, Chatri…