Jon Jones wants to find a way out of his UFC contract in order to finally face Francis Ngannou.
Jones has fought just twice in three years – with his last outing coming when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in the only defence of his heavyweight world title. Jones was offered a fight against Alex Pereira on the upcoming UFC White House card next month – but was unable to agree terms.
The American was linked with a clash with Ngannou while the rivals both fought for the UFC but the latter opted to quit the promotion and join PFL. UFC CEO Dana White has since insisted he would not work with the Cameroonian again, meaning Jones would have to leave the company to secure the fight.
And after watching Ngannou KO Philipe Lins last weekend, Jones revealed he hopes he can extricate himself, despite having six fights left on his deal. “I’ve got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract,” he said. “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 of my contract, that would be great.”
Ngannou fought as part of Jake Paul’s debut MMA card which featured Ronda Rousey’s win over Gina Carano. And asked about Jones fighting Ngannou, the YouTuber said: “I just feel bad when Jon Jones can’t get out of his contract to be a free agent, to be able to provide for his family. That is the real meaning behind these things and these fighters being tied up, not being able to pick and choose what they want to do.
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“The fact that he isn’t on the White House card is very disappointing. I got to talk to him tonight, and yeah, he’s upset about it. He’s like, ‘Man, it just sucks.’ He can’t control his career. I’ve been pushing for fighters to stay free agents, to work with people like MVP, where these MMA fighters can go and box. I’ve been wanting to make Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou, but it’s just tough over there.”
Jones also revealed he could swap the cage for the ring after seeing Ngannou earn career-high purses against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. “You know what? I’ve really wanted to box,” he added. “If I were to put all my energy into just my hands, my combinations, my punching power, I think I would really surprise a lot of people.”
“I think that getting out of my UFC contract is very, very possible. But I need to find the right people and go through the right channels. Just put more effort into it, really.”