Do you believe Jones would fight Ngannou?

[andgonsil]

To face Ngannou, Jones was asking for money that the UFC would never pay. Jon knew that and he knew that Francis could maybe leave the UFC. Jon never called Francis. Once Francis left, Jon set up a fight.

On Ngannou's side, perhaps he was afraid of losing to Jones. That would put an end to his dream of a big boxing match. But a win over Jones would put him in the first spot, he could make a Conor-like deal to face a top boxer.

I believe they were both afraid of each other in terms of losing their status.

 

[KarateYeah]

Yes

 

[Dbreiden83080]

I still think they will fight..

 

[Darkgsp]

 

[G10]

I don’t think either man is afraid of the other. The fight never came to fruition because the UFC is cheap, and they didn’t want to pay them what they were worth to fight.

 

[mirko>anyone]

I think he would and proceed to whoop his ass, tbh. Still not a fan though.

 

[Chagaev]

If he thinks he has a way to win.

 

[ferrisjso]

Jones and the UFC came to terms when Francis and Gane was already booked. Then Francis was injured and holding out. None of that is is Jones control.

 

[JBJ was here]

Of course Jones fights Ngannou. When Jones beats Stipe, expect the UFC to offer Francis something like a three fight, 18 month deal for a whole lot of money to face Jones, with an unofficial understanding that the UFC will release him upon his request after a loss. Jones/Ngannou is still the biggest legit fight that can be booked, and it's one Jones will hold off retirement for if he's otherwise leaning in that direction.

 

[The Bloody Nine]

Yes.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

For the right amount of blow, Jones will do anything

 

[SeattleFightFan]

To face Ngannou, Jones was asking for money that the UFC would never pay. Jon knew that and he knew that Francis could maybe leave the UFC. Jon never called Francis. Once Francis left, Jon set up a fight.

On Ngannou's side, perhaps he was afraid of losing to Jones. That would put an end to his dream of a big boxing match. But a win over Jones would put him in the first spot, he could make a Conor-like deal to face a top boxer.

I believe they were both afraid of each other in terms of losing their status.

I don’t know and don’t care. UFC needed two fighters to agree, out of Ngannou, Jones and Gane.

What else happened behind the closed doors is not even educated guesses.

Just as many people seem to think Jones ducked Ngannou as Ngannou ducked Jones. My guess is they’re all wrong, but we will never know.

 

[Fergelmince]

To face Ngannou, Jones was asking for money that the UFC would never pay. Jon knew that and he knew that Francis could maybe leave the UFC. Jon never called Francis. Once Francis left, Jon set up a fight.

On Ngannou's side, perhaps he was afraid of losing to Jones. That would put an end to his dream of a big boxing match. But a win over Jones would put him in the first spot, he could make a Conor-like deal to face a top boxer.

I believe they were both afraid of each other in terms of losing their status.

Now that he's had a warm up, any uncertainty has been laid to rest and he would sleep ngannou almost as fast as gane. strength doesn't get you out of a guillotine like that and ngannou would have nothing for him after the first few wild haymakers.

 

[laleggenda27]

1. Jones priced himself out of the Ngannou fight when it was on the table. Then when everyone knew that Ngannou's contract was up and he was leaving, that's when Jones decided to come out of retirement. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what was going on there.
2. There's nothing to suggest that Ngannou was "afraid" of Jones. Ngannou kept calling Jones out while he was under contract. It was Jones who decided to wait until Ngannou was already leaving. It wasn't a secret that Ngannou wanted out of the UFC--he was explicit about that fact for a long time. He wanted the freedom to box; it had nothing to do with Jones.

 

[Final Say]

The fact is, jones teased a move to heavyweight for over a decade and only did it once there was no sitting champion and when his easiest match up near the title maybe ever was present

Whether or not he would fight Ngannou, he didn’t and hasn’t yet and has picked his timing to move up extremely well for his own benefit

 

[Shilajit]

Kinda funny how overrated Ngannou is. The mental masturbation people create to just make him out to be some unstoppable juggernaut.

When he is only a few fights removed from showcasing white belt wrestling and grappling ability.

As if a few years will somehow cover the ground it takes to be on par with someone who's been doing it their whole lives.

Gane neutralized Ngannou's boxing and made it very obvious that fighting a boxing heavy style against someone with a diverse range of tools is very difficult.

Something Jon has also done throughout his career against fighters with one hitter quitter power.

When you can't effectively neutralize someone's ability to dominate the kicking range, it's very difficult to actually hit someone. Most of Jones opponents have talked about how insanely difficult it is to actually hit the guy clean.

It's because he controls the range with his legs and utilizes his arm length so well to avoid damage.

Anywhere that fight goes, it's hell for Ngannou. He's too one dimensional. Too predictable. He has a punchers chance, which does down drastically after the first and second round.

Both DC and Jones beat Ngannou comfortably. They're simply more well rounded, higher level fighters.

And Jones was signed to fight for the HW title. That's who he was gaining weight to fight for 3 years.

The fight was there for Ngannou. But at the end of the day, Jones signed and Frank didn't.

This whole idea of Jones only coming back when Ngannou left is fantasy.

Jones called him out in 2021 and that's who he was preparing to fight all this time.

Only person who prevented it from happening is Ngannou.

 

[Steve Fox]

For the right amount of blow, Jones will do anything

Lmfao

 

[Shilajit]

The fact is, jones teased a move to heavyweight for over a decade and only did it once there was no sitting champion and when his easiest match up near the title maybe ever was present

Whether or not he would fight Ngannou, he didn’t and hasn’t yet and has picked his timing to move up extremely well for his own benefit

Who do you figure he was gaining weight to fight for 3 years?

Only way he was coming back period is if he got a big money contract.

And the only way that was happening is if he was fighting for the belt.

He's the one initiated / stoked the flames for a Ngannou fight before he was even champ. He's the one who signed the contract.

What you're saying Is fantasy. And it requires the assumption that Jones dedicated himself to becoming a HW for funsies and was trolling when he called out Ngannou or something.

It also requires believing that Ngannou is some terrible matchup for Jones. Which only foolish people believe. It's always been the exact opposite. That's why most fighters have always taken Jones when predicting that fight.

 

[humdizzle]

after running through gane i'd imagine his confidence is at an all time high

i think he would fight ngannou

 

[AfroBanana]

1. Jones priced himself out of the Ngannou fight when it was on the table. Then when everyone knew that Ngannou's contract was up and he was leaving, that's when Jones decided to come out of retirement. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what was going on there.
2. There's nothing to suggest that Ngannou was "afraid" of Jones. Ngannou kept calling Jones out while he was under contract. It was Jones who decided to wait until Ngannou was already leaving. It wasn't a secret that Ngannou wanted out of the UFC--he was explicit about that fact for a long time. He wanted the freedom to box; it had nothing to do with Jones.

It takes comprehension.

He priced himself high because he knew he wasn’t where he needed to be to compete at HW. That’s smart. If he was going to risk his legacy before he felt prepared why not go high? He felt too small for HW and then he felt too fat and off when he was 260lb. He found a place where he felt ready and came back.

Jon came out of retirement while NNN was being negotiated. Gane was a result of negotiation failure. It’s not like he came out right after they couldn’t sign NNN, an alternate fight was announced when resigning NNN was completely off the table.

Neither is afraid of each other. Both men wanted reward for risks. Jon made the deal when he felt like he was ready and NNN opted out because he felt like he could make more as a free agent. Can’t hate on either. They each had terms they needed met. Nobody was ducking.