- Turki Alalshikh may have been working on Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones super fight
- The Saudi Arabian adviser mocked UFC president Dana White
Saudi Arabia Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Alalshikh may have just hinted at working on the Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones MMA fight.
Ngannou vs. Jones could be in the works
Speaking to DAZN’s Ariel x Ade, Alalshikh confirmed that he and “The Predator” have been discussing a lot of business lately. They will meet for the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch and talk about his “2 options” for the former UFC heavyweight champion. One of which is possibly the long-awaited MMA showdown with “Bones.”
“I need to sit with Wilder [for] two minutes to see his condition,” Alalshikh told DAZN. “I can catch it from two minutes [and check] if he’s ready or not. I don’t want to waste time and money anymore. I need to check first if he’s still got it.
Did Turki Alalshikh just hint to Ariel and Ade that he’s working on making the Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones fight?! 🤯
Turki Alalshikh discusses:
🔸 Ngannou vs. Wilder
🔸 Potential Ngannou/Jones MMA fight
🔸 Meeting with Ngannou next month
🔸 Big plans for a card in Africa in… pic.twitter.com/rfYfOQpZ38— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) December 3, 2024
“Francis will come to me in December to watch the [Usyk vs. Fury] rematch. And we have a lot of business together. I have on the table two options for Francis [Ngannou]. One in MMA and one in boxing I want to discuss with [him]. The MMA, you know, all the time. My answer is, we want to do the biggest things,” the Saudi Arabian adviser revealed.
Dana should be out of the picture
Alalshikh is also well aware of the possible complications of booking Ngannou vs. Jones, particularly with UFC president Dana White. For Alalshikh, the UFC boss should be taken out of the picture for the super fight to finally materialize.
Turki Alalshikh wants to make Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones:
Turki: We need to send Dana White to the moon.
Ariel: Can I come with him? Maybe we can sit together. You said you were gonna have us sit together. Maybe we could do it together and we make peace on earth.
Turki:… pic.twitter.com/3A0PehavOi
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 3, 2024
“We need to send Dana White to the moon… I think he prefer to go alone,” Alalshikh joked.
Despite being no longer with the UFC, Ngannou has remained optimistic about facing Jones. However, “Bones” seems to be only focused on a showdown between him and Alex Pereira. White, meanwhile, is pushing for a Jones vs. Tom Aspinall unification bout.
Is Francis Ngannou Coming Back to Boxing?
Francis Ngannou might return to boxing in 2025.
He surprised everyone when he tried boxing and even knocked down Tyson Fury in his first match. After a close loss to Fury, many thought Francis wouldn’t box again. Then he fought Anthony Joshua, but lost in the second round.
Just when people thought his boxing days were over, Francis went back to MMA and became the first PFL heavyweight champion by quickly knocking out Renan Ferreira in October. Could he be heading back to boxing soon?
There aren’t many new opponents for Francis Ngannou in the PFL, except for Denis Goltsov, who recently won the $1 million heavyweight tournament. But now, the boxing leader in Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh, thinks Francis might fight former WBC champion Deontay Wilder next. Before that, though, he wants to make sure Wilder is ready to go after his losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
