UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou wants to bank himself a big payday by fighting Jon Jones at the start of 2023.
Ngannou, 36, hasn't fought since making the first defence of his heavyweight title by outpointing former training partner Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January. 'The Predator' entered that fight with several knee injuries that were only worsened after going five rounds for the first time in his career. Ngannou, who is free to leave the UFC at the end of this year, hopes his return date can line up with former pound-for-pound No.1 Jones
"As my preferred opponent, it would be Jon Jones obviously. That's what I've always wanted, I need that big payday. Also this has to be a big statement, fighting Jon Jones is more than a payday. It's a big challenge, the guy has been dominating the sport for over a decade so I think he's a very good guy," he told MMA on SiriusXM.
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Jones, 35, who hasn't fought in over two and a half years, became embroiled in a pay dispute with the UFC after making the last defence of his light-heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. 'Bones' has been preparing for a move up to heavyweight since his last fight, but is yet to make his debut at the weight class.
Ngannou is hoping to be back to full training by the end of November, as he said of his injuries: "The recovery has been good, it's moving slow but I think it makes sense because they said it would take a minimum of nine months for just ACL but because I also have an LCL [injury] it might be about 10 months.
"It's been six months but it feels like it's been forever. I am able to workout now, do strength and conditioning and hit some mitts. The goal in the next two months is for me to be back in the gym, fully training."
Despite his hopes of fighting Jones next year, Ngannou is yet to sign a new UFC contract and will be free to leave the promotion in December. “My contract status right now is still the same. I haven’t received any offer. It’s the same," he added.
"I hope in the next two to three months, we get to deal with that. To solve that. It’s not surprising to me. I think we’re not in a rush. I’m not in a rush, either. I’m not going anywhere, so I’m not rushing. At the end of the day, we have time."
