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Quinton Jackson has weighed in on the much-discussed super-fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. ‘Rampage’ praised Jones and highlighted that the former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion is hard to hit clean.
He suggested that Jon Jones will likely do well at heavyweight but might have trouble against reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jackson himself is no stranger to Jones, having lost to ‘Bones’ via fourth-round submission in their UFC light heavyweight title bout at UFC 135 in September 2011.
In an interview with Helen Yee Sports, ‘Rampage’ Jackson – who previously labeled Jones the MMA GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) – was asked about how he sees ‘Bones’ faring at heavyweight. Jackson responded by stating:
“I think that Jones will do well in heavyweight if he can keep the guys from hitting him, which, you know, I had a hard time punching Jon Jones. I don’t think I landed anything clean on him. If he’s gotten even one percent better at avoiding getting hit in the face, I think he’ll do well at heavyweight. Because, he’s a great wrestler, and I think that he’d be able to control the fight, take ‘em down and fight. One thing about Jon Jones I think is that he has a strong mind, and whatever he puts his mind to, he can do it. And I just hope he puts his mind to focusing on his career and his personal life.”
Furthermore, when asked whether he sees Jon Jones as a future UFC heavyweight champion, Quinton Jackson alluded to the danger Francis Ngannou poses and said:
“I don’t know about that because Francis, what’s his name?” ‘Rampage’ added, “Francis Ngannou is; ain’t he the champion right now? Yeah, he tough. That guy is tough. And he looks like he hits really hard. And if he lands one shot on Jones, I don’t see Jones recovering from that. But like I said, Jones is hard to hit.”
Watch Quinton Jackson’s interview with Helen Yee Sports in the video below:
Francis Ngannou is set to face Ciryl Gane, with a possible Jon Jones fight in the cards in 2022
Quinton Jackson and Helen Yee also addressed Francis Ngannou’s upcoming fight against the undefeated Ciryl Gane. Jackson said:
“Oh, Ciryl Gane looks tough, too. He’s a heavyweight that can move, right? Yeah, yeah, that’s scary. That’s scary. That makes me wanna go back down to 205.”
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is set to fight interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in a title unification matchup at UFC 270 on January 22nd, 2022. The winner would emerge as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion and could defend their title against Jon Jones, who’s consistently maintained that he’d make his heavyweight debut in 2022.
Meanwhile, Quinton Jackson will coach against Shannon Briggs at Triller Fight Club’s inaugural Triad Combat event on November 27th. The card features MMA fighters taking on boxers in mixed-rules bouts, with Jackson coaching the MMA fighters and Briggs coaching the boxers.
