LAS VEGAS – Francis Ngannou is done putting energy into the idea of fighting Jon Jones.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), a former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, recently revealed his intentions to return to the octagon in either April or July. He’s targeting the winner of the upcoming heavyweight championship unification fight between Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Ciryl Gane, who headline UFC 270 on Jan. 22 in Anaheim, Calif.
“I’m looking to fight somewhere in April, possibly Madison Square Garden, or a total opposite date, possibly July at International Fight Week,” Jones told KRQE. “Those are the two dates that I’m kind of eying. I think it’ll depend on who wins in January between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and we’ll just take it from there.”
More than a year has passed since Jones announced he would be moving to heavyweight. It was long thought he would make his divisional debut by challenging for Ngannou’s belt, but then his negotiations with the UFC fell apart, and the promotion made an interim title fight that saw Gane defeat Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August.
Additionally, Jones is still in the hot seat with legal issues, as he was arrested in September following the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony for misdemeanor battery domestic violence and felony injuring and tampering with a vehicle. The case is currently ongoing, and it’s unknown how it could impact Jones’ availability to fight.
Ngannou said he’s had about enough of being teased with a Jones fight, and it’s reached the stage where he’s become indifferent to it.
“Personally I don’t really care about that anymore,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie. “There is a lot of talk about Jon Jones. He says a lot of things, yet we are still here. I wasn’t even expecting to fight someone other than Jon Jones after the Stipe (Miocic) fight, but here I am. It’s almost 10 months away, I’m going to fight Ciryl Gane which wasn’t in the picture, in the landscape at that moment at all.”
Ngannou would gladly fight Jones is everything came together correctly, but history has shown getting “Bones” in the cage is no easy feat. Jones hasn’t competed since February 2020, and there’s no guarantee his timeline to return in 2022 will even hold up.
Because of that, Ngannou said he won’t be giving it any more thought until something real such as a bout agreement is put in front of him. And of course, he has to beat Gane at UFC 270, too.
“What Jon Jones says and what Jon Jones does is two different things and I can’t bet on that,” Ngannou said. “I can’t put my money on that. I just do what I’m going to do and we don’t know what the future holds for us. It’s not something that I’m running against anymore.”
Francis Ngannou not buying Jon Jones’ new fight timeline: ‘He says a lot of things’