UFC Legend Francis Ngannou Says Jon Jones Would Be 'The Biggest Fight' in History

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou likely isn't returning to the company anytime soon, but he has an idea for how to generate buzz for next year's White House fight card.

While speaking to TMZ, Ngannou, who now fights in PFL, was asked about facing fellow former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones at the White House in 2026, and he declared that it would be the most exciting fight that the UFC could put together.

"The biggest fight of all time can only happen with Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. That's all that I can say about that," Ngannou said (4:40 mark).

Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in January 2023 without ever losing his heavyweight title. Before his departure, he and Jones went back and forth over a potential fight that never came to fruition.

UFC CEO Dana White said at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference in 2021 after Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title, "If I'm Jon Jones and I'm at home watching this fight, I start moving to 185 pounds." When asked further about a potential matchup between the two stars at the time, White said, "Listen, I could sit here all day and tell you, what 'Show me the money' means. You can say you want to fight someone, but do you really want to?" referencing a tweet from Jones.

Earlier this year, Jones infamously retired and vacated his heavyweight title without facing then-interim champion Tom Aspinall in a title unification fight. He later expressed interest in returning to the Octagon once plans for the White House event were revealed, and he recently called for a fight against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

Still, a fight between Jones and Ngannou remains one of the biggest "what ifs" in UFC history, so many will continue to wonder about a future matchup between the two legends, no matter how much of a pipe dream it may be.