Top heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones came head-to-head for the first time since their UFC showdown fell apart in an awkward encounter at a PFL event.
Ngannou was in attendance at the OTE Arena in Atlanta as a guest of honour, following an appearance by boxing champion Deontay Wilder last week. Meanwhile, Jones was in town to corner teammate Maurice Greene, who was taking on 2022 champion Ante Delija in the second round of regular season fights.
And the pair ran into each other at cageside following Green's loss to Ante Delija by unanimous decision. It was the first time they have been in the same room since Ngannou sensationally left the UFC and allowed Jones to fight for the vacant world title, with the pair sharing a heated exchange that was relatively cordial.
Jones and Ngannou had been taunting each other as the commercial break ran during Greene's wait for a decision in his fight with Delija, which didn't go his way. The pair filmed each other on their phones before facing off in a lengthy staredown right next to the smart cage.
The pair went back-and-forth verbally, with Jones telling Ngannou that he didn't want the smoke while Ngannou implored Jones to get his UFC release so the pair could square off in the PFL cage. "Tell your daddy [Dana White, UFC president] to release you so we can get this on," he told his rival.
"Respect, I want this fight to happen over here or over there," Ngannou added, before Jones replied "you don't want no smoke... We'll see." Ngannou then taunted Jones for sitting out for three years before making his move to heavyweight, and declared that perhaps his rival was the greatest at 205lb, but that he was the best at heavyweight.
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"I had to put on some size to kick your a**," Jones noted, before Ngannou claimed that despite there being nothing personal between the pair, he wanted a fight with the UFC heavyweight champion. Both men are also eyeing crossover fights with Tyson Fury, who claims the UFC have offered him a hybrid fight with Jones.
Ngannou never lost his world heavyweight title, defeating Stipe Miocic by knockout to win the belt in 2021 before defending it with a severe injury against Ciryl Gane. When he left the promotion, Jones was promoted to the top contender and faced Gane himself, landing a submission victory in the first round.
Both PFL, which is Ngannou's new home, and UFC are broadcast on ESPN in America, which also carries Fury's fights under the Top Rank Boxing banner. It is expected that such a fight would be shut down by Dana White despite keen fan interest in finding an undisputed heavyweight champion for the sport.
