Jan 24, 2022

  • Marc RaimondiESPN Staff Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jon Jones was going to be in attendance at UFC 270 on Sabbatum night. He'd exist there, likely close to the Octagon, to watch the heavyweight championship unification fight betwixt Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and the winner would probable be his next opponent.

That was the plan a week prior to the event, those close to him told ESPN. But in the unpredictable earth of arguably the greatest MMA fighter to always live, things do not e'er go every bit planned.

"Correct now, I'm on a perfect training routine, don't wanna disturb it for anything," Jones told ESPN's Brett Okamoto in a text message a few days out from UFC 270. "No demand to flatter these large boys, excited to become the job done when it's time."

Instead, Jones took to Twitter on Saturday to address the fight -- which he publicly deemed lackluster -- and Ngannou, the man who left Honda Center equally the UFC undisputed champion subsequently a unanimous decision victory.

"At the cease of the twenty-four hour period, I'm f---ing them both upward," Jones tweeted and later deleted.

Jones, the former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, also teased retirement and took a shot at Gane, writing he loves how "anybody gets and then impressed with the new guy."

"If this is the Noon of heavyweight fighting, I'm excited about information technology," Jones tweeted. "Got some more records to intermission."

Former Golden Boy boxing CEO Richard Schaefer, who is advising Jones in his negotiations with the UFC, is also very confident in Jones' chances of beating either Ngannou or Gane.

"The way [Jones] went virtually preparing to motility upward to heavyweight is unheard of in UFC history," Schaefer told ESPN. "He is not chasing a bigger payday and moving up. No. He prepared mentally and physically to be heavyweight champion. It will exist the biggest night in UFC history."

As always seems to exist the case with Jones, this won't be a straight path to a satisfying ending. Ngannou said he tore his right MCL and damaged his ACL three weeks before fighting Gane. He believes he needs surgery. On superlative of that, Ngannou is in the middle of a very messy, and very public, contract impasse with the UFC.

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Jon Jones eyeing 2022 render

Jon Jones expects to return to the UFC in the second quarter of 2022 and would similar to confront the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane.

Dana White, the UFC president, didn't put the belt on Ngannou after the fight, and did not nourish the postfight press conference, both of which accept go customary for White on major fight nights. Ngannou would have been a free agent had he lost. Only by retaining the title, the UFC'south champions clause kicks in, meaning Ngannou will still be under contract for the span of three fights or one yr, whichever comes earliest.

Ngannou has vowed to never fight once again on his current contract and has been open up near his desire to venture into boxing. Information technology's very possible this could exist the last time we meet Ngannou in the Octagon equally he heads into surgery and potential free agency in early on 2023.

Ngannou said afterwards his victory over Gane he was "pumped" when he won the title from Stipe Miocic in 2021, considering Jones was pegged equally the next challenger. Merely things have gone a bit haywire on multiple fronts.

"Since I won that fight, I never heard about it," Ngannou said. "And so, at this point I don't really know what is off the tabular array."

If Ngannou will be out of UFC activeness for an extended catamenia of time, or perhaps for good, Jones could pursue an interim title fight with Gane, or former champ Miocic. Miocic has expressed some interest in a Jones fight. Derrick Lewis could also put himself back in the mix with a win over Tai Tuivasa on Feb. 12 at UFC 271.

Jones and his team fully expect to get the adjacent championship shot later on Ngannou vs. Gane.

"We just have to see how it plays out in the next few weeks," Schaefer said.

Jones, 34, has not fought since Feb 2020, a close unanimous determination win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 to retain the UFC low-cal heavyweight championship. In August 2020, Jones vacated the light heavyweight chugalug with an eye toward moving up to heavyweight and going after that title.

Jones was supposed to exist next up for the winner of the championship fight betwixt Ngannou and Miocic at UFC 260 terminal March. In preparation for the movement, Jones bulked up significantly. In September, he said he was 255 pounds and targeting 270 for his heavyweight debut (he would then have to cut to 265 to make the heavyweight title limit). Those numbers are a far cry from 205 pounds, where Jones has spent the duration of his career.

Only Jones butted heads both publicly and privately with the UFC during contract talks after Ngannou became champ. Jones tweeted that an offer in the $8 million to $10 meg range would be "fashion too low for a fight of this magnitude."

Last May, Jones hired Schaefer as his adviser. Schaefer, who at present leads the boxing organization Probellum, has had a friendly relationship with White for years and came into the fold confident he could get a deal done.

The UFC, however, went in a unlike direction that didn't fifty-fifty include Ngannou, subsequently he informed them he would not be gear up in time for that engagement on a short turnaround due to a previously scheduled trip dorsum to his habitation in Cameroon.

The promotion booked Gane confronting Lewis for the interim title at UFC 265 last Baronial, a fight that Gane won to set up a title unification tour with Ngannou, his sometime teammate at MMA Manufacturing plant in Paris. The rich backstory betwixt the two men, including Ngannou's ongoing feud with Gane's coach (and Ngannou'southward former mentor) Fernand Lopez, made information technology easy for the UFC to keep Jones in limbo for another title fight.

Meanwhile, but hours after he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his epic 2013 fight with Alexander Gustafsson, Jones was arrested Sept. 24 in Las Vegas for felony tampering with a vehicle and misdemeanor domestic battery. Jones took a nolo contendere plea last calendar month and got off without jail time. It was the latest in a cord of outside-the-cage issues for the legendary fighter that include a felony hit-and-run charge, several DUI arrests and two failed drug tests.

The September arrest got Jones suspended from his JacksonWink MMA gym in Albuquerque, New United mexican states, where he has spent his entire, 14-year UFC career. Although JacksonWink coaches Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson withal intend to coach him, Jones has too started to visit Fight Prepare in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he is working with former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo and coaches Eric Albarracin and Eddie Cha. Jones' next preparation army camp could exist split between Albuquerque and Scottsdale.

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Why is a potential Ngannou-Jones matchup then enticing?

Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping both suspension down what they would be excited for if Francis Ngannou potentially faces Jon Jones in a heavyweight title fight.

"He has this God-given ability that'due south second to none," Cejudo told ESPN. "Merely the crazy thing about Jon Jones and him coming out here and seeing what we accept to offering him, there'due south so much room for him to grow even so. It's a trip. I almost feel like he's go a globe champ just based on ability. Simply based on his attributes and things like that -- he's a winner."

Jones (26-1, ane NC) is arguably the greatest UFC champion ever, in any division. He held the UFC light heavyweight title on and off for nearly a decade, simply losing information technology due to outside-the-cage issues. Jones' only loss came in 2009 via disqualification in a fight against Matt Hamill that he was absolutely dominating.

The New York native'southward résumé is unmatched. He's unbeaten in a UFC record eighteen straight fights, is tied for the nearly title defenses in UFC history with Demetrious Johnson with 11 and has the most wins ever in UFC championship fights with 14. Jones owns wins over former or electric current UFC champions Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier.

With all of those accolades and his popularity, Jones seems similar a no-brainer for the adjacent UFC heavyweight title shot, if the 2 sides tin come to an agreement. If a deal with Ngannou tin exist brokered, Ngannou vs. Jones would be one of the biggest pay-per-view main events of the year and, with the right promotional efforts, one of the height ones ever.

Simply again, when it comes to Jones, things don't ever go exactly as planned. There are nonetheless more than questions about the future of the heavyweight division, even after Ngannou's win over Gane, and they come straight from the acme brass at UFC.

"I don't feel confident in saying Jon Jones is side by side and not because I recollect he'south unreliable," White told Okamoto last week. "Information technology's considering I honestly don't know what Jon Jones wants to practice next. I recall Jon is gonna watch this fight and he'll decide maybe he doesn't fight at heavyweight. Maybe he goes back and tries to regain the lite heavyweight title. I honestly don't know the answer to that question."