Ciryl Gane is likely up next for Francis Ngannou, but the UFC heavyweight champion's head coach remains hopeful that a blockbuster matchup against Jon Jones will materialize.
"That's the fight to make," Eric Nicksick told Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour" on Wednesday. "And I would hate to miss out on that opportunity between Francis and Jon."
Jones had been penciled in as the next opponent for the winner of the March heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Ngannou, which the latter won by second-round knockout.
But after Jones and the UFC failed to come to terms - and after Ngannou was unable to make an August date for a targeted title defense against Derrick Lewis - the promotion decided to create an interim title instead. Gane destroyed Lewis at UFC 265 to capture the belt and set up a probable unification bout opposite Ngannou.
Nicksick has been impressed by Gane's rapid UFC ascent, but the Xtreme Couture trainer would still rather see Ngannou take on the "pound-for-pound GOAT" in Jones.
"This is what we want to do - we want to compete and we're going to compete against the best available," Nicksick said. "And I think Ciryl has put his name in that hat, but that's the fight I think the fans and the media and everybody wants to make ... Jon and Francis."