‘I Came Back Ready For Ngannou’

Don’t expect Jon Jones to fight the next generation of heavyweight contenders unless ‘the mainstream public is going to be excited’ about it.

Jon Jones is back in action for the moment and looking to put a cherry on top of his G.O.A.T. resume with a win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Will he stay after that and continue to fight up-and-coming heavyweight contenders? All signs point to no.

“They’re amazing, don’t get me wrong,” Jones said during a lengthy interview with the Overdogs Podcast. “They’re starching people in the first round. But as I get older, I have to look at it as a business and not just speak out of pride, but I have speak as my legacy and as a business.

“If the hardcore fans know who these guys are, that’s great, but at the end of the day I have to fight people that the mainstream public is going to be excited about. Because when you’re in my position, there’s always going to be this new challenge that’s younger than you that everyone wants to see you do it one more time.”

Jones has talked about losing interest in fighting random contenders at light heavyweight, and we doubt he’s interested in fighting the Pavloviches, Spivacs, or Blaydes of the division. He did drop one name that was gaining mainstream momentum in the UK.

“Tom Aspinall, I think he really has the potential to do something really special in the heavyweight division,” Jones suggested. “I think he’s going to be hard for the majority of guys to beat. I really do believe that.”

But Jones came back to dominate another division by beating the biggest and best names. A Francis Ngannou fight may not happen, but don’t get it twisted: it’s not his fault that fell through.

“The narrative switched somehow and everyone is saying that I waited three years and I came back exactly when Francis was gone,” Jones said. “That’s actually not true. When I got back, Francis was very much on the roster still and I could have been his last fight, but instead he opted out and Ciryl Gane took Francis’ spot.”

“I came back ready for Francis Ngannou, for sure. I’m not going to lie though, knowing that I was fighting Ciryl Gane instead of Francis was kind of nice.”