Francis Ngannou doesn’t think Jon Jones truly wants to fight him.
Ever since Ngannou knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds at UFC 249, Jones has taken to social media to say he wants to fight Ngannou. He has hinted at a move to heavyweight for some time now, but the heavyweight contender is skeptical he actually means it.
“I don’t think the Jon Jones fight will happen. People have been talking about Jones moving up for years. If he does move up, I’d love that fight,” Ngannou said to BJPENN.com. “But, they have to give me bags of money for that fight because that is a super fight. It would have to be worth it.”
Both Ngannou and Jones have spoken about needing bags of money for it to happen. So, whether or not the UFC would pay both of them their price is unknown at this point.
There is no question a scrap between Ngannou and Jones would be massive even if it isn’t for a title. It would be a fascinating fight where Ngannou is confident he’d hand “Bones” his first he real loss and would do so by knockout.
“I am not fighting him to lose. I will hand Jon Jones his first loss. Jones has a good chin but I will test how good it is,” he explained. “I can land punches on him and knock him out he has been hit before.”
For now, Ngannou is just soaking up his win at UFC 249 and waiting to see what the UFC has next for him. He hopes he can fight for the belt in his next fight but doesn’t want to be sidelined for a long period of time.
In the end, Francis Ngannou hopes the Jon Jones scrap can happen for his legacy but does doubt the light heavyweight champion moving up to fight him.
Do you think Francis Ngannou would KO Jon Jones if they do fight as he suggests?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/19/2020.