We don’t yet know if or when Francis Ngannou will make his way back to the Octagon. “The Predator” is expected to undergo surgery to repair an MCL tear suffered in the lead up to his UFC 270 pay-per-view (PPV) title defense opposite Ciryl Gane last weekend in Anaheim.
Operating under the assumption that UFC President Dana White was correct and Ngannou will be required to rattle off one more title defense before exiting his existing UFC contract, there’s a pretty good chance “The Predator” will be facing former 205-pound champion Jon Jones.
“Bones” is currently packing on the pounds ahead of his heavyweight debut.
“I just wanna see how big he is compared to the other guys,” UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson said about Jones (transcribed by Harry Kettle). “He’s tall enough, but you’ve seen Jon Jones’ legs and you’ve seen Gane or Francis’ legs? Massive. Tree trunks. I just feel like they could leg kick Jon Jones one time, just snap it in half. Those are the fights to make.”
Jones got the nickname “Bones” because of his skinny legs.
Trying to pin down a return date for Jones — who surrendered his light heavyweight strap back in late 2019 — may be a fool’s errand. Jones has been yammering on about the heavyweight division for nearly a decade and has yet to make good on his promise to head north.
In addition, fellow heavyweight bruisers Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis both hold unanimous decision victories over Ngannou, so it would not be unreasonable to have one (or both) leapfrog Jones in the “Predator” sweepstakes.
Time will tell.
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