UFC legend Jon Jones admits he is disappointed not to be fighting Francis Ngannou in his comeback fight.
Jones, 35, fights Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title on March 4 in Las Vegas following Ngannou's decision to vacate the belt and leave the promotion. A fight between Jones and Ngannou was being discussed for several years, but Ngannou was unable to agree to new terms with the UFC and left the promotion following the expiration of his contract last month.
Ngannou was requesting a clause which would allow him to box whilst under contract with the UFC, something the promotion refused to agree to. The Cameroonian is now expected to entertain a boxing offer and Jones admits not facing Ngannou in his heavyweight debut has hampered his return.
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"It does [take something away]," Jones told MMA Underground. "I feel that Francis is the more intimidating of the two. I feel like as far as American's go, he's more known in America. Francis is the big, scary, intimidating man whereas Ciryl is relatively unknown, obviously Francis has the belt so taking it from him would have been nice. It's a completely different fight."
Jones, who is widely considered as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, was caught up in his own pay dispute with the UFC two years ago as Dana White claimed he was demanding $30million to fight Ngannou. The 35-year-old has worked out whatever issues he had with the UFC by agreeing to a new eight-fight deal with the promotion, promising fans they will see him fight at least twice more.
'Bones' admitted that he respects Ngannou's decision to test free agency and seek better offers, telling Sports Illustrated: “I’m happy for Francis. I’m glad that he knows his worth. No man has a right to shame another man for fighting for his worth. I was in a very similar situation as Francis as a light heavyweight. I was never happy with my salary. I had to sit out three years, and I missed a lot of time, but now we’re here.
"I encourage Francis on his journey, and I wish him all the best. Another company is going to be truly blessed to have him. I do believe my path will cross with Francis. Dana always gives the fans what they want to see, and a Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou fight will always be a fight of interest. So I’m not counting it out. I’ll keep an eye on Francis.”
