Jon Jones thinks he has a finger on how his negotiations with the UFC for a fight against Francis Ngannou will ultimately play out.
So far, the prospect of a Jones/Ngannou superfight is not looking so good. Last week, Jon Jones asked for his release out of frustration of his treatment by the UFC and due to the displeasure of his relationship with UFC President Dana White. Jones deleted the tweets pleading for his release, but he recently expanded on his belief that he would be a better asset elsewhere in an interview published after those tweets surfaced. Jones also seemed indifferent to the possibility of Derrick Lewis swooping in and taking the Ngannou heavyweight title fight from him.
Today, we learned that’s exactly what is in the works to happen, as the promotion offered Derrick Lewis the title fight against Ngannou for June instead. The June date did not work for the champion, as he recently estimated that July or August would be more ideal. Still, the mere fact that this fight was offered signifies that the UFC may have moved on from Ngannou/Jones for the time being in favor of a Ngannou/Lewis rematch.
Jon Jones Gives Prediction For How Ngannou Fight Negotiations Will End
With early indications showing that the chances of Ngannou/Jones happening in the near future are growing more distant, Jon Jones did provide some optimism for how things will ultimately play out between him and the UFC.
“The UFC will go on whether I fight or not,” Jones said in his appearance on Steve-O’s Wild Ride! “I’ve got nothing to lose being in the position that I’m in right now. I don’t want to fight soon. I have no interest in fighting in the UFC until I get paid what I believe I’m worth. … I think it’s really powerful to stand up for what you believe is right, and I think eventually the UFC will realize that they’re being stubborn, they’ll realize that they do have a special athlete in myself and I think they’ll eventually meet me halfway.”
What Jones may not be considering in his “eventually” is that, unlike boxing, MMA champions are always facing the best of the best night in and night out. This means that a mega fight against Ngannou could be gone tomorrow just as quickly as it arrived. All it would take is one properly-landed bomb from The Black Beast to wipe out the universe where we could have witnessed a Ngannou/Jones collision. Surely, fans around the world who are eager to see this superfight will keep their fingers crossed that “eventually” comes sooner rather than later.
Do you think Jon Jones and the UFC will come to terms in time to make the Ngannou/Jones fight happen?
