Chael Sonnen explains why Jon Jones badly wanted to fight Francis Ngannou before latter's UFC exit

Chael Sonnen seemingly believes that Jon Jones sincerely wanted to face Francis Ngannou in their much-discussed super-fight before Ngannou departed from the UFC. Jones, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, had been on hiatus from MMA competition since February 2020 and preparing for his heavyweight debut.

'Bones' finally debuted at heavyweight in March of this year and defeated Ciryl Gane via first-round submission. With the dominant victory, Jones captured the vacant UFC heavyweight title, one that was vacated by Ngannou in January.

In an edition of Beyond the Fight, MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen has alluded to the fact that certain sections of the MMA community have criticized Jones for purportedly refraining from returning until Ngannou's UFC release. Sonnen opined that although the timeline of Jones' return and Ngannou's UFC exit suggest otherwise, he wasn't evading a fight against 'The Predator'.

In fact, Chael Sonnen believes that Jon Jones badly wanted to fight Francis Ngannou, with the latter being his first preference, followed by Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane. Sonnen explained that irrespective of whether or not Ngannou was the best heavyweight skill-wise, 'The Predator' was widely perceived as the best.

He opined that Jones, therefore, wanted to fight and beat Ngannou to be perceived as the best. Sonnen stated:

"What we didn't know, and, in fairness, neither did Francis -- no one knew -- is how bad Jon wanted that fight. And I'm just curious as to why. Is that purely about legacy? Is that purely about perception?... Guys wanna be the best in the world -- That's what we say, and that's what we want. Because what we really want is to be perceived as the best in the world."

"If you could either have the skills, or you could have the perception; of course, you would just take the perception. And perhaps, Jon Jones -- with the fear, with the size, with the strength of Francis Ngannou -- perhaps he saw that [as] the quickest and clearest path to earning that respect of perception. Perhaps."

Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 4:56 in the video below:

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Is a potential Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou grudge match on the horizon?

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is expected to defend his title against heavyweight MMA legend and former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic next. 'Bones' has lately hinted that he'd like to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York this November. The Jones-Miocic showdown's date hasn't been officially announced yet.

Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou has signed with the PFL and is likely to debut for the MMA organization in 2024. It's believed that 'The Predator' will make his professional boxing debut before fighting in the PFL.

Ngannou is reportedly targeting a tune-up fight boxing match before boxing a top-tier pugilist such as Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, or Anthony Joshua. Considering the aforementioned variables at play, a possible grudge match between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou appears unlikely to materialize anytime soon.