Jon Jones may be leaning toward retirement, but the possibility of a long-awaited showdown with Francis Ngannou still has his attention.
Jones appeared during the broadcast for MVP MMA’s debut event on Saturday night and reacted to Ngannou’s devastating first-round knockout win over Philipe Lins. While discussing the performance, Jon Jones admitted he would still love to fight Ngannou after years of speculation surrounding a potential heavyweight clash between the two stars. The Cameroonian has also had plans to face “Bones”, but the situation never fully aligned for the fighters.
However, Jones also acknowledged that making the fight happen could be extremely complicated because he remains under UFC contract.
“I’ve got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract,” Jones said during the Rousey vs. Carano broadcast. “That’s going to be the difficult part if this fight is going to happen. I don’t think Dana [White] is interested in doing business with Francis.
“Doing it with MVP would probably be the only way to make it happen. If we can get out my contract, that would be great.”
For years, fans pushed for Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou while both men sat near the top of the heavyweight division. The fight never materialized before Ngannou left the UFC in 2023 following a contract dispute with the promotion.
Jones eventually captured the UFC heavyweight title and later found himself linked to a potential mega-fight with Tom Aspinall. Instead, Jones shocked many fans when he vacated the belt and announced his retirement.
Weeks later, the UFC revealed plans for a special White House event, which briefly reignited Jones’ interest in competing again. Despite that, UFC CEO Dana White publicly stated he did not trust Jones to follow through with the booking.
That situation seemingly pushed Jon Jones back toward retirement once again.
“I think I am [retired],” Jones admitted. “I think I am. I have a really good agent, the Kawa brothers, and these guys keep me busy. I’m constantly on the road, creating my own businesses and endorsing other businesses.
“So I feel like if things weren’t going so well, I’d feel the pressure to get back in the cage. But things are going so well on a professional level that I really have no reason to fight anymore.”
Even while discussing retirement, Jones still praised Ngannou’s latest performance and pointed out the improvements he noticed in the former UFC champion’s striking game.
“Tonight he looked good, but he also fought against a guy that weighed like 220 pounds,” Jones said. “That guy was afraid to engage with Francis. He definitely wasn’t on the same kickboxing level as Francis.
“I thought Francis was very impressive tonight. He’s starting to throw kicks. He threw really nice high kicks tonight. I’m just excited to see what’s next for him.”
During the broadcast, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley even floated the idea of MVP and Jake Paul helping Jon Jones buy his way out of his UFC contract to finally make the Ngannou fight happen.
Jones appeared intrigued by the suggestion.
“How cool would that be?” Jones said. “You heard it here first. I didn’t even think of that idea.
“But having those guys cover the tab? I wonder if they’d be interested in doing that.”
For now, Jon Jones continues to walk the line between retirement and one final blockbuster fight. But if there is one matchup capable of pulling him back into the cage, it still appears to be Francis Ngannou.
