"Biggest fight in UFC history" - Chael Sonnen explains why Jon Jones should wait for Francis Ngannou instead of fighting Stipe Miocic

Chael Sonnen (L), Jon Jones (M), Francis Ngannou (R) [Credits: Instagram @sonnench @jonnybones @francisngannou]

On an episode of Chael Sonnen's Beyond The Fight podcast, the former title challenger posed the question of whether a potential Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou matchup would sell. 'The Bad Guy' had high praise for this bout, saying it could be the "biggest fight in history."

However, he has some reservations regarding whether that bout will translate into commercial success. Chael Sonnen explained:

"Jones vs. Ngannou, for me, I believe would be the biggest fight in history. I believe it has the ultimate storyline. But I will concede back to you right now, the greatest storyline in heavyweight history was Ciryl Gane vs. Francis Ngannou, and you guys did not buy that. You guys did not want to see it."

The Orgeon native was referring to the history between Ngannou and Gane, which was supposed to draw intrigue. Both men had previously trained together at the same gym, and Gane had apparently gotten the better of Ngannou in sparring. Despite what was supposed to be a compelling storyline, the bout was not as high-profile as expected.

Still, Sonnen is of the belief that it may be wisest for Jones to continue to wait for Ngannou. Chael said:

"It might just be the wisest thing. Keep Jones dry, keep him on the sidelines, bring him in against Francis. When and if that fight can even happen."

Unless it is a negotiation tactic, Jon Jones himself seems to prefer Stipe at this point. 'Bones' tweeted this out on Sunday:

At this point I’m looking to fight Stipe, I think it proves a lot more. Fighting a fairly one-dimensional fighter fresh off of knee surgery. I don’t know, I believe beating Stipe says more at this point twitter.com/tunde_orko/sta…

Again, Jones might only be saying this due to Francis Ngannou's current dispute with the UFC. Regardless, fans hope a date for Jones will be booked sooner rather than later, as it feels like fans have been waiting an eternity for his return.

You can watch the full episode of Beyond The Fight below:

Chael Sonnen thinks Jones would be an "underdog" against Ngannou

Chael Sonnen believes what would make the Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight so intriguing is that Jones could potentially be the underdog. 'The Bad Guy' spoke about how fans are more inclined to watch the light heavyweight GOAT if he has a notable chance of losing a bout.

Sonnen said:

"If Jones vs. Ngannou were announced today, I would expect when I go to DraftKings to look at the odds that Jones for the first time in history is an underdog... If Jones is expected to win, then everything I just proclaimed and the reasons I proclaimed for this to be such a massive night of business would be right out the window."

It would be interesting to see if Jones would truly be the betting underdog, considering, as Sonnen said, Ngannou just came off of knee surgery.