Francis Ngannou dismisses the idea of Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira being the biggest fight.
Both Jones and UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira reciprocated interest in fighting each other at the planned White House event next June. Former two-division UFC champ Jones is widely considered the greatest fighter of all time, and Pereira one of the biggest stars in the sport.
Ngannou was asked about his interest level in a potential fight between Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), which Joe Rogan claimed would be the “biggest in human history.”
“If they’re fighting, I’m definitely going to turn on my clock to watch that fight, but it’s not like, ‘Wow, OK: This is the fight,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports.
Ngannou insists that only he and Jones can be mentioned when talking about the biggest possible fight.
“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 fights and all the fighters, regardless if the fight is on the main card or prelims. I think great fights can happen everywhere. I became a world champion at the (UFC) Apex with no crowd. It’s not about the place, but if you want to say the biggest of all time, you make it biggest.”
Ngannou and Jones appeared to be on a collision course when Ngannou was UFC heavyweight champion, but the fight never materialized after Ngannou parted ways with the promotion and signed with PFL. The UFC allegedly offered Ngannou the biggest contract for any heavyweight in history, but Ngannou’s demands to stick around weren’t met, prompting Dana White to accuse him of ducking Jones.
