Francis Ngannou hasn’t given up hope of one day fighting UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
‘The Predator’ is set to take another break from MMA to focus on big opportunities in boxing after previously sharing the ring with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Still, he is expected to compete in his first sport at some point this year. PFL is looking for potential opponents for him to face, but there’s a distinct lack of attractive options since his quick KO win over Renan Ferreira in October.
Of course, a cross-promotion fight with Jon Jones remains at the top of every MMA fan’s wishlist and Francis Ngannou insists the most powerful man in boxing, Turki Alalshikh, could help make the biggest fight in MMA.
Francis Ngannou provides Jon Jones fight update
Ngannou believes that Dana White is standing in the way of a super fight between him and Jones.
Still, he holds some hope that Alalshikh will be able to convince the UFC boss to make it happen.
If it doesn’t, the 38-year-old is happy with his career and confident other big fights will come together.
“I think it’s something that could potentially happen,” Ngannou told Sportsbook Review.
“If you can get past Dana White, it could happen [but] that’s a massive obstacle. But personally, I don’t care. I’m doing well. I’m doing my stuff at my pace. I don’t care. That won’t change my sleep for me.
“Honestly, I think there’s a lot of big fights out there [for me]. Yes, Jon Jones would be a great fight, a fantastic fight. I have always hoped for that fight [but] my hope and my expectation for that fight has faded over time.
“But there’s still big fights out there. How big was my fight against Tyson Fury? How big do you think a second Battle of the Baddest will be? Turki Alalshikh doesn’t need Dana White to do a massive fight. He needs Dana White for the Ngannou-Jon Jones fight, but he doesn’t need Dana White.”
Francis Ngannou breaks down Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall
A much more likely next fight for Jones is with the UFC interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall.
Negotiations for their unification bout have been taking place since Jones KO’d Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.
Regardless of his rivalry with Jones, Ngannou is backing him to beat Aspinall if their fight comes off.
“I think Tom Aspinall is very dynamic, Jon is very experienced,” he added.
“Jon, over the course of his career, has seen a lot of people similar to Tom Aspinall, while Tom Aspinall has not seen a lot of people like Jon Jones, so I think this is the advantage that Jon might have.
“Jon has the experience. You know what they say, ‘young monkey goes fast, the old monkey knows the way.’ Jon Jones has the advantage based on his experience and where he’s at in life.”