"Bigger than a title" - Francis Ngannou hopeful a super fight against Jon Jones will materialize
A heavyweight title fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones was arguably the biggest fight the UFC could have made in the past three years, but the former heavyweight champion remains hopeful.
During his appearance on episode #146 of the JRE MMA Show, 'The Predator' noted that he would still like to fight the reigning UFC heavyweight champion and would even be willing to accept a non-title bout. He mentioned that he believes the heavyweight clash wouldn't need a title to be meaningful.
He said:
"I don't worry about a title; the title is not what I worry about. I worry about that fight, that challenge, and I wouldn't care if it was a fight without a title...I don't need a UFC title...That fight [against Jon Jones] is bigger than a title." [8:34 - 8:54]
The two heavyweights had an interaction at a PFL event this past June, which had fans buzzing on social media. Francis Ngannou mentioned that the PFL would be on-board with a potential super fight with Jon Jones and insinuated that the UFC would have to agree to cross-promote:
"It's [fight with Jon Jones] possible but they [UFC] have to go through the PFL now. The PFL is down for that...Maybe it will be a special fight, a special belt or something, maybe not like a UFC belt. I don't know." [7:40 - 8:25]
It will be interesting to see whether the UFC considers cross-promoting with the PFL, should Francis Ngannou have an impressive performance in his boxing bout with Tyson Fury next month.
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When is Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury taking place
The highly anticipated boxing fight between former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury is fast approaching.
The heavyweight clash is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28. The bout is significant for the Saudi Arabian fans as the event kicks off Riyadh season, which is an annual sports and entertainment festival.
It is a very intriguing fight as 'The Predator', who earned a reputation for his incredible knockout power, will be making his professional boxing debut. For obvious reasons, 'The Gypsy King' is viewed as the favorite, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is fully capable of shocking the combat sports world.
