The stars of MMA were in Saudi Arabia for the big PFL vs. Bellator: Champs event in Kingdom Arena on Saturday night (Feb. 24, 2024).
Combat sports royalty that showed up included Mike Tyson, Fedor Emelianenko, and Jon Jones. Francis Ngannou was also in the building, which isn’t as big of a surprise considering he’s technically a PFL fighter, even if he hasn’t fought for them.
That meant we got to see Jones and Ngannou together for the second time since a potential UFC superfight between the two fell apart. The first time was at an Atlanta PFL event in June 2023. The two squared off in the crowd and shook hands, sharing a few cautiously respectful words with each other. This time in Riyadh? Jones said he’d beat Ngannou in a fight, leading to Ngannou calling Jones fat from the sidelines.
Not shown on the broadcast: another impromptu faceoff between the two as Ngannou passed Jones in the crowd. “The Predator” stopped and faced Jones, who laughed and patted him on the stomach. Ngannou returned the favor, poking Jones in his ample belly.
“You need to go back to training,” Ngannou said with a smile.
Jones seemed to be having a great time across the night. He geeked out at the opportunity to meet Fedor Emelianenko, going so far as to kiss him on the hand.
“I love you Fedor!” Jones exclaimed. “You were one of my favorites, always, forever, brother. You and Aleksandr. Tell your brother I said hello.”
A little awkward considering Fedor is estranged from his brother over his extensive criminal history and has said that Aleks is ‘dead to him.’ But oh well.
Jones also got to chop it up with Mike Tyson as well.
It all led to this amazing photo from the PFL of Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones, and Mike Tyson together at cageside:
As it stands, there’s very little chance the UFC will allow Jon Jones to fight Francis Ngannou. They can’t stop the two from showing up at events and creating hype surrounding the fight, though. Hype that may get so big that eventually UFC CEO Dana White won’t be able to explain away why he’s preventing Jones and Ngannou from engaging in one of the most important heavyweight fights that could ever happen. He’d still keep the answer at ‘No,’ though.
Those of us who have been around long enough still remember another heavyweight legends fight between Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko that never happened. Will Jones vs. Ngannou be this generation’s lost superfight?
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
