After moving to the PFL in search of a better contract and a higher pay scale, Francis Ngannou‘s vacated HW championship title was won by Jon Jones as he defeated Ciryl Gane upon returning to the UFC after a long time away. Jones and Ngannou had been beefing long before Jones’ return to the Octagon, but it was restricted to social media.

Fans had been waiting for Jones to return to the UFC and face the seemingly indomitable force of nature that is Ngannou. However, that dream came to an abrupt end. However, fans saw a glimmer of hope when Jones ran into Francis Ngannou at a PFL event that the UFC HW champ attended, cornering Maurice Greene.

Just A Dream? John McCarthy and Josh Thompson discuss PFL’s smart promotion strategy and Jones vs. Ngannou

The pot has been boiling for quite some time now. The stage had been set, and the fans were ready to see the undefeated UFC fighter Jon Jones take on the beast that is Francis Ngannou. However, Ngannou moved to PFL and a cross-promotion fight doesn’t seem like a feasible thing at the moment. The two recently ran into each other at a PFL event, but their face-off was rather ‘cool and underwhelming’.

Legendary former UFC official ‘Big’ John McCarthy and former UFC fighter Josh Thompson were discussing the Jones vs. Ngannou fight and its possibilities in one of their YouTube videos, recently. Talking about PFL and the Jones-Ngannou face-off, McCarthy said, “Take a look at what they did… Take a look at what they did with – when Jon Jones was there in the corner for Maurice Green. Look at that little… you know… is it set up? Yeah! Okay… it’s all set up, you know. Is it going to go anywhere? No! But, the PFL was using it. For what? Promotion. I don’t blame them. I don’t blame them at all.“. The former UFC official seemed highly impressed with the brains behind the promotion strategy.

Former UFC fighter and co-host of the WEIGHING IN YouTube channel, Josh Thompson wholeheartedly agreed with McCarthy as he said, “I don’t know, that’s smart. That’s smart. Good on them (PFL).”.

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Although everyone would have loved a piece of the Jones vs. Ngannou action, this cold face-off is the only action that everyone has to settle for at the moment.

The HW Title Entanglement – Ngannou, Tyson Fury, Ciryl Gane, and Jones

There are four primary names that are entangled when it comes to the UFC and it’s HW champion. Jon Jones, after his return, continued beefing with the former HW champion Francis Ngannou. However, hailing from two different promotions, the fantasy match-up seemed far from reality. Then, UFC commentator Joe Rogan was derided by WBC champ Tyson Fury, which led to Jon Jones intervening and starting a beef with the Gypsy King.

The beef between the two escalated to a point where the fans were convinced that a fight between Jones and Fury was on the table. However, like most other super-fight cards, this one fell through.

Current news suggests that the next opponent for Tyson Fury shall be the former UFC HW champion, Francis Ngannou.

Dive Deeper – “That Spices Thing Up”: Francis Ngannou’s “Crazy” PFL Deal Involving $2,000,000 Stipulation Leaves Joe Rogan Dumbfounded

Ciryl Gane was the replacement for Francis Ngannou and Jones secured an emphatic win over the champion. As of now, Stipe Miocic is the Heavyweight fighter who has been slated to face the current Heavyweight champion. The fight is supposed to take place sometime in 2023.

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