{"id":2097,"date":"2026-05-18T15:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=2097"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:03:19","slug":"jon-jones-frank-on-francis-ngannou-fight-got-to-focus-on-getting-out-of-my-ufc-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=2097","title":{"rendered":"Jon Jones frank on Francis Ngannou fight: \u2018Got to focus on getting out of my UFC contract\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-1ihz57b-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"independent\">\n<div data-theme-wrapper=\"independent\" style=\"display:contents\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveInsideSportNews\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/InsideSport1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Inside Sport\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM cLEJmn\">Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sport<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM iTZFOX\">Get our free Inside Sport newsletter<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM iGYpOF\">Get our free Inside Sport newsletter<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/InsideSport1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Inside Sport\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/jon-jones\">Jon Jones<\/a> has claimed he may \u201cneed to try to focus on getting out\u201d of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/ufc\">UFC<\/a> contract, amid renewed talk of a fight with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/francis-ngannou\">Francis Ngannou<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, Jones joined Netflix\u2019s punditry team to discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/general\/how-much-did-ngannou-make-vs-lins-b2978560.html\" title=\"Francis Ngannou gifts $100k bonus to opponent Philipe Lins after brutal KO victory\">Ngannou\u2019s knockout of Philipe Lins<\/a>, after the Cameroonian stopped the Brazilian in round one at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.<\/p>\n<p>The bout took place on the undercard of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/general\/rousey-carano-result-submission-armbar-ngannou-nate-diaz-b2978065.html\" title=\"How Ronda Rousey\u2019s winning return to MMA played out in 17 frantic seconds\">Ronda Rousey\u2019s comeback to mixed martial arts<\/a> (MMA) after a decade away, at an event organised by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/jake-paul\">Jake Paul<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/ufc\/rousey-carano-mvp-mma-jake-paul-ufc-b2978597.html\" title=\"Can Jake Paul\u2019s MVP challenge the UFC? Here\u2019s what Rousey vs Carano told us\">Most Valuable Promotions<\/a> (MVP). Ngannou\u2019s win saw him move to 2-0 in MMA since leaving the UFC in 2023, an exit that saw him vacate the UFC heavyweight title, which Jones won two months later. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 bSGESx\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/18\/14\/2276636364..\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/18\/14\/2276636364..?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/18\/14\/2276636364..?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Jon Jones on punditry duty for Francis Ngannou\u2019s fight with Philipe Lins\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Jon Jones on punditry duty for Francis Ngannou\u2019s fight with Philipe Lins<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Getty<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jones ultimately relinquished the belt last summer as he retired from MMA, yet the American has repeatedly teased a return to the cage. And a potential super-fight with Ngannou was put to the former light-heavyweight champion on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be the difficult part, if this fight is going to happen. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Dana [White, UFC CEO and president] is interested in doing business with Francis. Doing it with MVP would probably be the only way to make it happen. If we can get out my contract, that would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, Jones admitted: \u201cI think I am [retired], I think I am. I have a really good agent, the Kawa brothers, and these guys keep me busy. I\u2019m constantly on the road, creating my own businesses and endorsing other businesses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I feel like if things weren\u2019t going so well, I\u2019d feel the pressure to get back in the cage, but things are going so well on a professional level that I really have no reason to fight anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ngannou\u2019s UFC heavyweight title reign coincided with Jones\u2019s absence from the UFC, as the latter focused on bulking up to transition from a light-heavyweight frame. Many fans accused Jones of actively avoiding a fight with Ngannou \u2013 who is widely considered the most-fearsome puncher in MMA history \u2013 especially given Jones returned to the UFC as soon as the Cameroonian left.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTonight he looked good,\u201d Jones said on Saturday, \u201cbut he also fought against a guy that weighed like 220lb. That guy was afraid to engage with Francis. He definitely wasn\u2019t on the same kickboxing level as Francis.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 bzupIC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/17\/03\/download.-2.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/17\/03\/download.-2.?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/17\/03\/download.-2.?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\"><span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\">(<!-- -->AP<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c[But] I thought Francis was very impressive tonight. He\u2019s starting to throw kicks, he threw really nice high kicks tonight. I\u2019m just excited to see what\u2019s next for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After leaving the UFC, Ngannou (19-3) fought once in the PFL, winning the promotion\u2019s Super Fights heavyweight title in 2024. He did so by stopping Renan Ferreira in the first round. <\/p>\n<p>The 39-year-old has also boxed twice since leaving the UFC. He a controversial decision to then-champion Tyson Fury in 2023 after dropping the Briton, before suffering a brutal KO defeat by Anthony Joshua in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Jones, 38, last fought in November 2024, stopping heavyweight great Stipe Miocic to retain the UFC heavyweight belt. Jones (28-1, 1 no-contest) then refused to face interim champion Tom Aspinall, ultimately giving up his title and leading Aspinall to be elevated to official champion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364.jpeg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-300x200.jpeg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-768x512.jpeg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-1024x683.jpeg",640,427,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364.jpeg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364.jpeg",1200,800,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-1115x715.jpeg",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-800x500.jpeg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-1024x683.jpeg",1024,683,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-540x340.jpeg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2276636364-400x250.jpeg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?cat=6\" rel=\"category\">Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}