It’s probably the closest Jon Jones and
Francis
Ngannou will get to a confrontation for the foreseeable
future.

The heavyweight stars came face-to-face on Friday at Overtime Elite
Arena in Atlanta. Jones was at the venue to corner training partner
Maurice
Greene, who lost a decision to Ante Delija
in the
PFL 5 main event. Ngannou, meanwhile, was on hand after
recently signing with PFL as a highly-coveted free agent.

During the interaction, Jones can be heard telling Ngannou, “You
don’t want no smoke” but the conversation appeared to be mostly
cordial, and the fighters shook hands multiple times. Ngannou
parted ways with the UFC earlier this year when he was unable to
come to terms with the promotion for a new contract after his
existing deal expired. Jones subsequently captured the vacant
heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane
at UFC 285 in March.

During an interview on the ESPN broadcast prior to his cageside
meeting with Ngannou, Jones said there was no real beef with “The
Predator” since a fight between the two is unlikely.

“I’ve met Francis before, he’s a sweetheart of a guy,” Jones said.
“Outside of the fight game, he’s a pretty respectful guy. I can be
pretty respectful as well. I’m looking forward to seeing the
brother and giving him some knuckles.

“… If we’re not fighting, there’s no reason to have a bunch of
beef, especially when we see each other in person. It’s cool to
talk trash and keep the fans excited and stuff like that, but if
there’s no fight contract, we’re bros at the end of the day.”

Ngannou isn’t expected to make his PFL debut until some time in
2024 as he pursues fights in professional boxing. Meanwhile, Jones’
next title defense has been targeted for November against Stipe
Miocic at Madison Square Garden, but that matchup is far from
official. What’s clear is that with Ngannou gone from the UFC, one
of the biggest fights in promotion history is probably going to
wind up as a permanent “What if?” That didn’t stop Jones from
offering his take on who the deserves the top spot as the
proverbial “Baddest Man on the Planet.”

“I know that I’m badder than him,” Jones said. “So, I don’t have to
give him any weird looks or whatever. He’s big muscles, he’s a very
impressive-looking figure, but when it comes to this fight game,
it’s my whole world and I know who I am.”





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Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou Have Face-to-Face Encounter at PFL 5