It’s a foregone conclusion that Jon Jones will get a shot at the Heavyweight title sometime in 2022. After all, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has gone on record to say that “Bones’” first fight in the division would be for the strap.
But just so there is no confusion, Ciryl Gane says should he defeat current champion Francis Ngannou in their title unification match this Sat. (Jan. 22, 2022) in the main event of UFC 270, Jones will without a doubt be next.
“This will be a pleasure if I win [at UFC 270] against Francis, yes I want to fight against Jon Jones. This is the next one, Gane said earlier today at the UFC 270 media day (via MMA Fighting).
“A lot of people talk about that already because we are maybe the more well-rounded guys in this division and a lot of people talk about a technical fight. It will probably be a good matchup. Yes, if it’s possible, we’re going to do this.”
It goes without a saying the Ngannou would also be up to giving the former longtime 205-pound king first dibs at his title should he hold on to it in Anaheim. Calif. After all, “The Predator” was trying to lock down a fight with Jones in 2021, but in the end monetary issues cooled off talks.
Next month it will be two years since Jones competed last, a win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. Jones vacated the title in 2020 and has been working on building his body to Heavyweight mode ever since.
As far as when he’d like to return, “Bones” has declared that his prefers to fight in April, or perhaps even wait until July for International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course. should Ngannou prevail on Saturday, there is still a small matter of “The Predator” locking down a lucrative contract before he defends his belt again.
It’s a potentially massive obstacle in the way of a much-desired fight against “Bones” for the Frenchman, who says his days of fighting for not-so massive paychecks are over after this weekend.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 270 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
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