Co-founder of PFL Donnavis revealed what would be financially at stake for Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou.
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jones and Interim title holder Tom Aspinall could be on a collision course later this year, but in the meantime a super fight for Jones has surfaced in recent days.
Jones and the UFC continue to talk to protect the Aspinall confrontation for later this year. Aspinall recently claimed that he has protected a fight date and location for his Octagon Return, but has not revealed whether or not Jones will be his next opponent.
After Jones announced his full -time transition to heavyweight in 2020, a confrontation with Francis Ngannou was at the top of the UFC wish list. But the matchup never flourished and Ngannou left the promotion in 2023 after a long contract dispute with the UFC.
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Donn Davis shares detailed route to PFL/UFC Cross-Promo for Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou to secure
Ngannou then signed at the PFL; And conversations about a potential cross-promotional confrontation between Jones and Ngannou appeared immediately. But UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly refused to collaborate with the PFL to make the fight take place, in the midst of a hostile relationship with Ngannou.
But White perhaps wants to consider the recent offer of PFL co-founder of Donn Davis after the EYE opening financial proposal for Jones vs. Ngannou.
In a recent message to X, Davis revealed the money at stake for a Jones vs. Ngannou Super Fight.
“Proposal … winner takes everything. MMA best heavyweight of all time. Francis Ngannou vs. Jones,” Davis posted.
“Francis wins … PFL and Francis split 100% of the event's profit. Jon wins … UFC and Jon split 100% of the event's profit.”
NGANNOU made his MMA Fenceback against the former PFL title holder Renan Ferreira and won through TKO last year. It was Ngannou's first MMA fight since the beating of Ciryl Gane on UFC 270.
Jones and Ngannou came face to face during a PFL event in 2023 and fed fire to speculation about a potential confrontation in the cage. Jones fights Stipe Miocic in November on UFC 309, and a timeline for his return to the Octagon is uncertain.
Dana White's Bad Blood with Francis Ngannou is an important obstacle for Jon Jones Fight
But an important obstacle for a potential Jones vs. Ngannou -Fight is White, who shared a hostile relationship with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ngannou. White publicly admitted his contempt that Ngannou was going back for years and claimed that he wanted to cut Ngannou out of the selection after early losses to Miocic and Derrick Lewis.
Ngannou and White will probably never come to a lovable central ground, and Jones vs. Aspinall is the fight that the UFC headman still wants to make a flourish later this year. Aspinall is the longest governing interim title holder of the UFC and defended the belt on UFC 304 last July.
The heavyweight division of MMA continues to add top stars and Jones and Ngannou are at the top of hope.