If Francis Ngannou works things out with the UFC, he’s not confident that Jon Jones would be his next opponent.
Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) successfully unified his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 270, and one of the sport’s biggest stars has been waiting in the wings.
But with former UFC light heavyweight king Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) inactive since February 2020 and having his own negotiations to sort out with the promotion, Ngannou is tired of addressing him as a potential next opponent.
“I think the first thing we have to know is if Jon Jones is going to fight or not,” Ngannou said on Bruce Buffer’s “IT’S TIME!!!” podcast. “Because actually, he finds himself a better battle on Twitter than in the octagon.”
Ngannou entered his title defense against Gane with a grade 3 tear in his MCL, as well as damage to his ACL, which will need surgery to repair. The champion is planning on going under the knife in the first quarter of 2022, which will potentially sideline him for the majority of the year – if not the entirety of it.
“July is not possible because I’m having surgery in March,” Ngannou revealed.
When Ngannou’s negotiations with the UFC fell apart last year, the promotion made an interim title fight that saw Gane defeat Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August. So with Ngannou forced on the shelf for a much longer period this time, the UFC could be looking at another interim title, especially if Jones enters the picture.
But based on the division’s recent title history and activity, Ngannou doesn’t think that’s necessary.
“The past has shown that in the heavyweight division, they can wait for a year for a title defense,” Ngannou said. “We’ve been having one title defense (per year) in the heavyweight division for a long time, so I don’t think that’s the issue.”
Despite both UFC president Dana White and Ngannou questioning his actual return, Jones seemed excited to compete after watching Ngannou retain his title earlier this month.
