Francis Ngannou gets offered another major fight by UFC, but it is NOT against Jon Jones
UFC is not interested in paying Jon Jones a huge purse for the Francis Ngannou bout and are thinking of booking a Ngannou vs Lewis bout instead.
By now it’s pretty obvious that both Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones want to fight each other in a UFC heavyweight title bout. The reports of a Jones-Ngannou match-up started floating around after Bonny vacated his light heavyweight strap to move up a weight class. And after The Predator violently stopped Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 to become the new heavyweight king, fans called for UFC to book the mega-bout.
Jon Jones UFC record: Francis Ngannou next fight
However, before the fight could materialise, Jon Jones had some back and forth with the promotion, related to his pay. Bonny has publically stated that an offer in the range of “$8-10 million” would be “way too low” for him. Not just that, he also went on to ask UFC to release him from his contract and cut him from the roster, adding that the UFC industry “has been nothing but depressing for me”.
Francis Ngannou next fight: Francis Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis
Earlier, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that UFC is not interested in paying Jon Jones a huge purse for the fight and are going after Derrick Lewis instead. Ngannou and Lewis have fought each other in the past at UFC 226, with The Black Beast winning via unanimous decision. However, the bout is widely regarded as one of the worst fights in UFC history, with fans also asking for a rematch.
Helwani stated that the UFC matchmakers want Francis Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis 2 to take place on June 12, 2021. While Derrick Lewis is totally on board with the idea, Ngannou wants more time to prepare for his first title defence, considering he fought just a few weeks ago. “UFC has kicked the tires on Francis Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis on June 12. However, the timing doesn’t work for Ngannou (and I don’t blame him; he just won the belt). Bigger story here, IMO, is, at least for now, they don’t seem keen on waiting around for (Jon) Jones,” Helwani added.
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Since 6/12, at least for now, doesn’t viable, do they revisit Jones? Maybe. But Lewis is ready, willing and able. Wouldn’t be surprised if they just try to book that rematch for sometime later in the summer/fall. Doesn’t look like they are willing to meet Jones’ price right now.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 5, 2021
How much Jon Jones wants for Francis Ngannou bout?
According to Jones’s coach Mike Winkeljohn, Jon Jones deserves to be paid Jon Jones “$50 million” as he’s one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot inside the octagon. Winkeljohn added that the Jones vs Ngannou bout has the calibre to break PPV records, so he doesn’t see why UFC can’t give the Pound-for-pound king his desired purse as they will make way more than that from various endorsements, PPV buys and other deals.