Jon Jones watched along with the rest of the world as Francis Ngannou did the unthinkable against Tyson Fury this past weekend (Oct. 28, 2023).
The trio of Heavyweight combat sports giants have all been linked to each other in some facet throughout 2023. Originally, mixed martial arts (MMA) fans salivated at the possible mega-fight between former and current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions, Ngannou and Jones, until Ngannou parted ways with the promotion early in the year. Fury and Ngannou had already been toying with the idea of an eventual cross-sport match up, but then Fury and Jones started mentioning each other’s names.
In the end, Ngannou outperformed everyone’s expectations in his professional boxing debut, taking the all-time great Heavyweight, Fury, to the judges’ scorecards and losing a tightly contested split decision (watch highlights). Despite their rivalry, “Bones” is complimentary of “The Predator.”
“I thought he did great, I’m glad the fight was competitive,” Jones tweeted. “Opens so many doors for everyone in the future.”
After seeing how Ngannou fared against “The Gypsy King,” the prospect of a dream fight against Jones only gets all the more compelling. Unfortunately, things have gone past the point of no return with Ngannou now outside UFC. On top of that, Jones recently suffered a torn pectoral muscle, canceling his would-be title defense against another former champion, Stipe Miocic, which was set for UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden next weekend (Sat., Nov. 11, 2023).
Jones and Ngannou both hold wins over Ciryl Gane in their last MMA fights. The Fury boxing match was Ngannou’s first time in action since earning a unanimous decision over Gane in January 2022. Meanwhile, Jones returned from a three-year hiatus to make his divisional debut and capture the vacant UFC title with a first round guillotine of Gane (watch highlights).
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
