Newly minted UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is well aware of Jon Jones’s skills (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), but doesn’t see “Bones” as a bigger threat than Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC).
Last March, Francis Ngannou brutally finished Miocic in a rematch at UFC 260, stopping his opponent early in the second round. Thus, Francis was able to get even with Stipe for the defeat he inflicted on him in the winter of 2018, and also extended the winning streak to five fights, all of which were won by him ahead of schedule.
“Everybody in this position would like to get compensated,” Ngannou said on the “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” podcast. “Basically, a guy like Jones, he’s been around for very long and been doing this sport, and (the UFC) grows. I think there’s nothing wrong about (wanting to get paid more). But I don’t know what the deal is. I would like that fight to happen – that would definitely be the No. 1 fight.”
“Jon Jones definitely has more tools in his pocket than Stipe, but I’m not sure he’s tougher than Stipe though,” Ngannou said.
The dream scenario for the Cameroon-born Ngannou would be defending his title against Jones in Africa. He hopes they can have their own rendition of the historic “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match, in which Muhammad Ali dethroned George Foreman to capture the heavyweight title in Zaire.
“I think they can recreate ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – the idea,” Ngannou said. “That would be something dope, and I’m definitely going to be a part of that. I wish they’d do it pretty soon, maybe something with Jones. We’re going to recreate ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’ That’s something epic, and now that Africa stands as a figure of combat sports, we have to go back to that.”
