Buzz regarding a possible fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones has dropped off after the latter reported talks for the all-star bout weren’t going well. Further, “Bones” has said he’s back to focusing on his run as the UFC’s light-heavyweight champ.
But, more recently, Jones’ manager Abe Kawa has reminded folks that when it comes to the UFC, and mega-fights, anything can happen…
After Jones relayed not long ago that he’s interested in fighting Ngannou next, hype for the fight quickly ramped up. But, a few days later, Jones claimed that the UFC wasn’t willing to guarantee him more money for the fight.
As a result, an upset Jones said he might take some time off, before admitting his emotions had got the better of him. Jones proceeded to call for a bout with light-heavyweight contender Jan Blachowicz.
So, is the fight at a dead end? Well, Kawa recently spoke with MMA Junkie, and he had this to say about the proposed bout.
“Listen, it can always still happen,” Kawa said. “One thing we have is a tremendous amount of respect for (UFC president) Dana (White)and the guys up there (at the UFC).
Whenever the fans really want something to happen, it happens. So that being said, it can always happen. That’s never a straight no, it’s not. It can absolutely happen.”
“The situation was just like – I don’t want to get too much into it – it was pretty much (a case of): ‘Jon wants to fight Francis. He’s looking to get compensated for it.’ And they were like, ‘Maybe not right now.
It’s not going to happen,’ and he was just taken aback by that,” Kawa said. “He was just like, ‘I can’t believe it’s not happening.’
Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went down. There’s nothing more to it. So in terms of negotiations and whatnot, it was just a flat ‘No.’
“I think everyone wants the matchup. I think everyone wants to see that happen. It’d be crazy not to, right?
I don’t know what person out there doesn’t want to see Jon vs. Francis at some point. I think that’s fair.”
It seems silly to close the book on this fight never happening, as Kawa noted. If both Ngannou and Jones continue to win and calls for the bout continue to build, the UFC will likely take another look at how to make it happen.
Especially if the UFC starts to run short on other, all-star bouts that don’t require renegotiating contracts.
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