Copyright Yardbarker
The UFC heavyweight division has not had much luck since Francis Ngannou moved on. After defending his title against Ciryl Gane in 2023, Ngannou left the UFC to seek better pay and opportunities outside the promotion. Things have not improved for the division since then. In the recent UFC 321 main event, Tom Aspinall’s fight against Gane ended early due to an eye poke. Looking to shake things up, former heavyweight champion Jon Jones added fuel to the fire by accepting a callout from light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, a move that was met with plenty of fan support. Francis Ngannou pushes back on Joe Rogan’s ‘biggest fight ever’ claim After both Jones and Pereira showed interest in a potential matchup, UFC commentator Joe Rogan did not hold back, calling it possibly “the biggest fight in human history.” But Ngannou is not convinced about that. ‘The Predator’ spoke with TMZ Sports about the topic, saying: “You know the answer, you don’t need me for that,” when asked which would be bigger – his fight with Jones or a Jones-Pereira showdown. “Should I answer? Do you really need me to answer? The biggest fight of all time can only happen with Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. That’s all I can say about that. No disrespect to other fighters, I respect all the fighters regardless of if the fight is a main card or prelim fight, whatever or wherever. “I think great fights happen everywhere, I became a world champion in the Apex with no crowd, so as long as it’s a fight, it’s not about the place, but if you want to see the biggest fight of all time, you make it the biggest.” Will Francis Ngannou ever return to the UFC? Right now, a fight between Jones and Ngannou feels like a long shot, especially given ‘The Predator’s’ rocky relationship with Dana White and the UFC. On top of that, it is not clear if the former champion even plans to return to MMA after his two fights in boxing. Now signed with PFL, Ngannou finds himself short on viable opponents, which has led to his career stalling out.
