‘We need to send Dana White to the moon’… Turki Alalshikh is confident he can still make Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou

The savior of boxing, Turki Alalshikh, believes he can also become the savior of a huge MMA fight that slipped under our fingers between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.

During Francis Ngannou's reign over the UFC heavyweight division, Jon Jones was out of action as he prepared for his eventual move to the heavyweight division.

Unfortunately, at the time 'Bones' was preparing to move up to heavyweight, Ngannou had a falling out with the UFC brass and ultimately decided to leave the promotion as champion after being unable to agree on a new deal.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Turki Alalshikh still wants to make Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones

After 'The Predator' left the UFC, Jones returned and won the vacant heavyweight title, recently defending it against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Despite this, UFC CEO Dana White has consistently claimed that the reason a fight between Jones and Ngannou couldn't happen was because Ngannou was asking for a huge amount of money. With White's claims, he and Ngannou have been in constant back-and-forth and blaming each other.

However, after becoming known for saving the sport of boxing, Turki Alalshikh is now beginning to dip his toe into the world of MMA, with the UFC holding its first event in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

The promotion will land back in the Middle East early next year as they continue their partnership with Riyadh Season.

Turki Alalshikh believes he is in a position where he can convince the UFC boss to agree to a cross-promotional fight between Jones and Ngannou, finally giving the fans what they want.

“I have two options on the table for Francis. One in MMA and one in boxing, I want to discuss with him,” Turki Alalshikh told Ariel Helwani.

“You know, in MMA my answer is always that we want to do the biggest (fights). (Yes, it's Jon Jones), we need to send Dana White to the moon,” Alalshikh continued.

White has consistently stated that he is not interested in cross-promotional events with the PFL or other promotions, making Alalshikh's job difficult.

Francis Ngannou keeps calling out Jon Jones

'The Predator' finally returned to MMA last October, making his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira at 'The Battle of the Giants'.

The former UFC heavyweight champion went on to win the PFL heavyweight superfight title, proving that he is still one of the most dangerous fighters in the cage.

Following Jones' recent victory over Ngannou's old rival, Miocic, the 38-year-old called for a possible fight against 'Bones'.

“Blessings make haters uncomfortable, but they can't change it. There is only one fight, the right fight that will multiply your blessings. #NgannouVSJones,” Ngannou stated in a post on X.

The UFC is currently working to get Jones to accept a title unification fight against interim champion Tom Aspinall, which Aspinall is confident will come to fruition.

Related posts