Jon Jones still wants the Francis Ngannou fight, but he says the first opponent is his UFC contract.
Jones appeared during the MVP MMA 1 broadcast Saturday night at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, where Ngannou knocked out Philipe Lins in the first round. After the finish, Jones said the long-delayed heavyweight matchup would likely require him to leave his UFC deal and fight under MVP.
“I’ve got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract,” Jones said. “That’s going to be the difficult part if this fight is going to happen. I don’t think Dana [White] is interested in doing business with Francis.
“Doing it with MVP would probably be the only way to make it happen. If we can get out my contract, that would be great.”
Jon Jones said he wants to get out of his UFC contract to fight Francis Ngannou 😳
“I don’t think Dana’s interested in doing business with Francis. If we can get out of my contract, that’d be great.”
(via @MostVpromotions) pic.twitter.com/Glq6eadrf3
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 17, 2026
Jones is 28-1 with 1 no contest in MMA. His most recent fight came against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, where he won by third-round TKO to retain the UFC heavyweight title. Ngannou is 19-3 after stopping Lins at MVP MMA 1, and the former UFC heavyweight champion remains the matchup Jones never got before Ngannou left the promotion.
Ngannou’s latest finish is below:
FRANCIS NGANNOU LAYING THE BOOM ON PHILIPE LINS IN ROUND 1 🔥#RouseyCarano is LIVE now only on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/437vmQSnb6
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) May 17, 2026
Jones Says Retirement May Already Be Real
Jones was still UFC heavyweight champion when a fight with Tom Aspinall was being discussed, but he later relinquished the belt and retired. Aspinall became undisputed champion, while Jones briefly pushed to compete on the planned UFC White House card before Dana White shut down that idea publicly.
That recent UFC friction matters here. Jones is still connected to the promotion, Ngannou is outside it, and White has shown no public interest in helping make a cross-promotional Ngannou fight. Jones already pushed back once, asking to be released if the UFC believed he was finished.
Jones did not sell the Ngannou fight as something he needs at all costs. He said retirement may already be where this ends.
“I think I am [retired],” Jones said. “I think I am. I have a really good agent, the Kawa brothers, and these guys keep me busy. I’m constantly on the road, creating my own businesses and endorsing other businesses.
“So I feel like if things weren’t going so well, I’d feel the pressure to get back in the cage but things are going so well on a professional level, that I really have no reason to fight anymore.”
Jones also gave Ngannou credit for the Lins knockout, while making it clear he saw a size and skill gap in the matchup.
“Tonight he looked good but he also fought against a guy that weighed like 220 pounds,” Jones said. “That guy was afraid to engage with Francis. He definitely wasn’t on the same kickboxing level as Francis.
“I thought Francis was very impressive tonight. He’s starting to throw kicks. He threw really nice high kicks tonight. I’m just excited to see what’s next for him.”
Ngannou has kept Jones tied to his own future, too. He previously said the UFC used Jones “as bait” during old contract talks and claimed the fight was never truly on the table. Jones now sees MVP as the likely route, but there is still no announced fight, no UFC release, and no public deal connecting all sides.
