Francis Ngannou believes boxing match with Tyson Fury only ups the stakes for future Jon Jones fight: “It will just make that fight bigger”

By Susan Cox - August 25, 2023

Francis Ngannou believes his boxing match with Tyson Fury will only up the stakes for a future Jon Jones fight.

Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones

The 36-year-old Ngannou was the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion from March 2021 until early 2023. Ngannou parted ways with the promotion after being unable to come to terms with a new contract. It was only then that the title was vacated.

As a free agent, Francis Ngannou eventually signed with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) and in doing so, is now able to fulfill his desire to compete in the boxing ring as well.

It will be Ngannou vs Fury in the ring on Saturday, October 28th in Saudi Arabia.

With the vacated heavyweight title, it would be Jon Jones (27-1 MMA) who returned to the Octagon, after a 3-year absence, to fight Ciryl Gane (11-2 MMA) at UFC 285 this past March. The result was a victory for ‘Bones’ and a new champion was crowned.

Francis Ngannou spoke about the ‘fight that got away’ on the podcast ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson’, saying:

“I’m disappointed, too, but that fight is still possible. I think we both (Ngannou and Jones) are down for it. I left the UFC but that doesn’t mean that this fight cannot happen.”

Continuing ‘The Predator’ said (h/t MMANews):

“It will just make that fight bigger. Like, imagine me and Jon Jones fighting after the Tyson Fury fight, the one or the second one, it just gets that fight bigger and bigger. So that fight will always be there when both of us want to fight. Now, it’s a matter of our contractual situation.”

Obviously, Francis Ngannou hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the two fighters battling it out in the cage.

For now, Jones will be looking to defend his title this coming November 11th against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA) at UFC 295, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Would you like to see a Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones fight in the future?

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Topics:

Francis Ngannou Jon Jones Tyson Fury UFC