Jon Jones admits Francis Ngannou would have been a bigger fight than Ciryl Gane
Jon Jones has discussed competing in the heavyweight division for years. Throughout the majority of his successful reign as UFC light heavyweight champion, he always had his sights set on the heavyweight division. Jones is now set to contest the heavyweight strap at UFC 285 in March against Ciryl Gane.
Many anticipated that Jones would return to action against heavyweight champion and knockout artist Francis Ngannou. Now that the Cameroonian has been stripped of his title and released from the organization, it's unlikely that the matchup will come to fruition any time soon.
It would have been fascinating to see Jones compete against a heavyweight juggernaut like Ngannou, whose stellar highlight reel of knockouts speaks for itself.
Needless to say, Jones realizes that Ngannou would have been a bigger fight than Ciryl Gane. Previewing his return and comparing the matchups in a recent interview with MMA Underground, 'Bones' claimed:
"I feel like Francis is the more intimidating of the two. As far as Americans go, I feel like he's more known in America. Francis is this big, scary, intimidating man, whereas Ciryl is relatively unknown."
Jones added that he would have relished the opportunity to dethrone Ngannou as the heavyweight champion:
"Francis has the belt [and] taking it from him would have been nice. It's a different fight.... Stylistically, it's a different fight."
Catch Jon Jones' comments below (2:45):
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Jon Jones' advisor believes that Francis Ngannou made a huge mistake not re-signing with the UFC
Richard Schaefer, a seasoned boxing promoter, was hired by Jon Jones in 2021 to represent him in contract negotiations with the UFC. Schaefer did an outstanding job, as seen by Jones' renegotiated UFC deal, which apparently makes him the second highest-paid fighter after Conor McGregor.
#TheMMAHour
youtu.be/s0dFdzdyT1IManager Richard Schaefer says Jon Jones' UFC deal makes him "the highest paid heavyweight athlete" and "probably the second highest [paid] ever next to Conor McGregor" đź’° #TheMMAHour
▶️ youtu.be/s0dFdzdyT1I https://t.co/JXdkhmIYq6
UFC president Dana White announced over the weekend that the promotion has terminated Francis Ngannou's contract. Former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will challenge former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane for the vacant title at UFC 285 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Schaefer, the the longtime boxing promoter and former CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, claimed in a recent interview on The MMA Hour that Ngannou perhaps made a mistake in not re-signing with the UFC:
“I think he’s a terrific athlete and I think he has some big fights ahead of him and I personally think, just my feeling, that he made a mistake not working out his deal with the UFC. But it’s his decision. That’s what he is doing and the world goes on, and the UFC goes on. There’s going to be other big fights and there are other heavyweights lined up to fight the winner of this fight, to fight Jon after he beats Ciryl.
Catch Richard Schaefer's comments below (20:00):