'Maybe the fans will get what they want'… Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones could be made in stunning PFL and UFC cross promotion says Donn Davis
24/08/2024 21:14
PFL founder Donn Davis has teased that a stunning cross-promotional heavyweight title fight may be on the table.
Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones both have legitimate claims to being the ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion of MMA. The former never lost his UFC title before leaving the promotion in 2022, while the latter currently holds the belt and is one of the sport’s all-time greats.
However, the UFC famously never co-promotes, and with both scheduled for big fights in October and November seemed that the bout may never happen. But speaking with Bloody Elbow, Davis has raised fans hopes of a potential super-fight.
Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have history at heavyweight
For a long time it appeared that the biggest heavyweight title fight that could be made in the UFC was Francis Ngannou against then-light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The Cameroonian is a notoriously hard hitter, and would be going up against arguably the greatest fighter of all time.
Unfortunately, a contract dispute saw Ngannou leave the organization altogether in favour of a boxing run that made him multiple eight-figure paydays. He has also signed with PFL, where he faces Renan Ferreira in October’s ‘Battle of the Giants’.
There is still keen interest in the fight, and the pair had a number of run-ins at PFL shows over the past year-and-a-half. Most famously after Jones cornered Maurice Greene in Atlanta last year, they came head-to-head at cageside, facing off in a viral moment as they both pushed for the fight.
Dana White refuses to rule out boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh making Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones
While the UFC generally steer clear of co-promotions, a new power player has emerged in the fight game that could make them change their minds. Saudi Arabian businessman Turki Alalshikh has been hailed as one of the saviours of boxing and has made some previously unthinkable fights.
He managed to unify the heavyweight division in the ring after two decades of split belts, pitting Oleksandr Usyk against Tyson Fury. And he is now dipping his toes into MMA, staging a UFC fight night in Riyadh and sponsoring UFC 306 to have the event branded Noche UFC: Riyadh Season.
And promoter Dana White has clearly thawed on the possibility of working with other promoters. Asked if Turki Alalshikh could facilitate an unheard of co-promotion with PFL for Jones vs Ngannou, White refuse to explicitly deny the possibility, saying: "Well, I actually respect Sheikh Turki, he's a nice guy.
“We have actually formed a relationship over the last couple of months. I respect what he has done with boxing. This is the only guy that could pull this off and make these big fights. And the fights are good, you don't have guys coming in and avoiding fights so they can get to the next payday.
"What this guy has done in a short amount of time is pretty incredible, so we're obviously talking about lots of different options with this guy. I respect him. I like him, so we will see what the future holds."
Donn Davis teases potential Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones super-fight
Speaking with Bloody Elbow last night at the final PFL Playoff event of the summer in Washington DC, PFL founder Donn Davis teased that such comments could see the fight moving even closer. The venture capitalist and businessman is keen to make big fights happen for fans, starting with Ngannou vs Ferreira.
“I think all questions are interesting and there are a lot of good answers to the questions,” he said of the Battle of the Giants. “I think you could say that the winner of Ferreira and Ngannou is the greatest heavyweight or you could say ‘I don’t care’.
“I think it’s a great debate and let’s let fans decide that, but certainly they are in the conversation and we are certainly watching two of the top five in the world square off. The two most athletic, and two of the hardest hitting so it’s a fight nobody should miss.”
And asked about the idea of working with UFC to make Ngannou vs Jones in future, Davis remained relatively coy, adding: “We want to give the fans what they want and maybe the fans will get that. Wouldn’t that be great?”
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