"It's calories in vs. calories out" - Chael Sonnen on why Francis Ngannou's reported weight suggests he will be out till next year

Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones colliding this year is something that Chael Sonnen seems skeptical about.

On a recent episode of Beyond The Fight, Sonnen discussed a rumor from Ariel Helwani that Jon 'Bones' Jones would be making his long-awaited octagon return in December of this year.

When discussing Ngannou's reported weight from a couple of weeks ago, with the context of a rumored fight versus Jon Jones in late 2022, Sonnen said:

"If Francis is 300 pounds and I'm sure it's an amazing looking three hundred pounds, my point being though it's calories in versus calories out. If you're training and you're active Francis at 300 pounds, it just tells you maybe he isn't fully back. That's a rumour and that's a speculation at best but that's what we have to go on."

Sonnen continued:

"We don't get a lot of information about the champ... He's nursing a knee injury. Nothing to see here but that is very different than Francis coming back to what would be the biggest match of his life [against Jones]. By the way where are we at guys? We're almost at September...three and a half months, training camp? For a guy that's completely healthy in Jon Jones."

Watch the video below:

Odds on a potential Ngannou-Jones matchup are already out and cast Francis Ngannou as a slight favorite against Jon 'Bones' Jones in a heavyweight title fight.

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Francis Ngannou's road to UFC championship

Francis Ngannou initially fought for the UFC heavyweight belt at UFC 220 in January 2018. However, he would fall short to Stipe Miocic in 2018 at UFC 220 by way of unanimous decision and then lose his next outing via UD to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226.

'The Predator' has rebounded since then and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. After halting Curtis Blaydes in a rematch, Ngannou would best former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos before KO'ing Jairzinho Rozenstruik to secure a second title shot against Miocic.

In the rematch, Francis Ngannou stopped Stipe Miocic to even up the series and cement himself as UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 260 in March 2021. He notched his first successful title defense in January when he beat Ciryl Gane by way of unanimous decision at UFC 270.