Michael Bisping thinks Jon Jones may have granted Ngannou a favor by wanting to fight him.
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones could be heading into his very last MMA bout. There have been talks about him facing former champion Stipe Miocic later this year. This will be one of the biggest heavyweight fights in UFC history. Miocic has not fought in several years but during his heyday, he was one of the best ever. Jones was a long-time light heavyweight champion and is often regarded as the greatest of all time. Jones is looking at this fight as his retirement bout that is unless he can get a fight with Francis Ngannou.
Michael Bisping wants to see Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou in Africa
Michael Bisping believes that Jones looking for a fight with Ngannou helps the case of the former heavyweight champion. Ngannou left the UFC in search of better opportunities both fight-wise and money-wise. He’s looking for a big-name boxing match against some of the top heavyweights out there and is also looking to join a new MMA promotion. So far not much has come his way through free agency. Bisping believes that a match with Jones could be just a thing for both men involved and the UFC.
“That is a massive lifeline for Francis,” he said. “Francis Ngannou, who Dana said he will never fight for the promotion ever again…In that situation, everybody would sit around the negotiating table, Francis Ngannou and Dana and Hunter would once again sit down because that would be huge. That will be the fight that everyone wants to see. And certainly, it would bring, Jon Jones is the A side let’s be honest, it will bring Jon Jones back to the Octagon. And he’s right. It will be a worldwide sensation. You know, they can even do the fight in Africa. Wouldn’t that just be incredible?”
The UFC has been talking about taking an event to Africa over the past few years. When Ngannou was champion, along with Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, all native African descendants, this was high on the list of to-dos. Now none of these men except for Adesanya are champions but the UFC you’re still looking to bring an event there. Bisping believes the Jones vs. Ngannou could be the perfect fight to headline this event. It will be historic for both men and Jones could use that as his retirement fight.
