Francis Ngannou on potential clash against Jon Jones - "What is the price that I have to pay for that fight?"
Francis Ngannou has addressed the much-discussed dream matchup between himself and Jon Jones. The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion asserted that he’d like to fight Jones.
Nevertheless, Ngannou suggested that he wouldn’t compromise on his principles in his ongoing contract negotiations with the UFC simply to fight ‘Bones'.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Ngannou insinuated that he’ll sign a new contract with the UFC only if he’s given a pay raise and allowed to compete in the sport of boxing. When asked whether he saw Jones’ tweets wherein ‘Bones’ criticized his (Ngannou’s) UFC 270 fight, ‘The Predator’ stated:
“I think Jon Jones’ wheel is passing by like a car on the boulevard, so it’s really hard to follow.” The duo shared a laugh, and Helwani then asked whether ‘The Predator’ feels Jones doesn’t really want to fight him. Ngannou replied by saying, “I don’t know. At this point, I don’t know. And even though I would like to have that fight, like, at this time, I don’t want anything to be like a string attached. As long as I won everything, I don’t want anything to hold me into my principle to like, get me out – Yes, to like, take me off my position of what I want. Yes, the Jon Jones fight, but at what cost? What is the price that I have to pay for that fight? That’s the problem.”
Watch Francis Ngannou's conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Jon Jones wasn’t impressed by the Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane fight at UFC 270
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou defeated interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision at UFC 270 on January 22nd. Both fighters impressed the MMA community with their valiant performances in the grueling fight.
Regardless, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones seemed rather unimpressed by the heavyweight title unification matchup. Reacting to the Ngannou-Gane fight, ‘Bones’ posted a series of tweets and soon deleted most of them. Some of his tweets read as follows:
“Yall ready for daddy lol”
“If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it. Got some more records to break,” Jones wrote in another tweet.
If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it. Got some more records to break
“At the end of the day, I'm f**king them both up,” Jones warned in a tweet that he ended up deleting.
Jones’ most recent MMA bout saw him defend the UFC light heavyweight title by beating Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision at UFC 247 in February 2020. 'Bones' vacated the light heavyweight title in August 2020. He’s since been bulking up for a move to heavyweight and has vowed to capture the UFC heavyweight title this year.