Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones might not be likely, but it is possible, at least so says PFL Chairman Donn Davis.
This past weekend, Ngannou made his long-awaited return to MMA, stopping Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants. The bout was Ngannou’s first fight for the PFL and vaulted “The Predator” back into the MMA Fighting Global Rankings to the No. 2 spot at heavyweight. It also re-ignited talk of the now-lost Ngannou vs. Jon Jones superfight that captivated fan imaginations for years. But for the PFL Chairman, that matchup may not be as lost as many believe.
“I’m a pretty optimistic guy,” Davis told MMA Fighting during a Town Hall on Wednesday. “I’m a realist from a business standpoint, but I’m always optimistic. Even Jon Jones’s Tweets struck me as very interesting. … That’s a lot different than the last three years. That’s a lot different than the last three years between those two guys.
“So for me, I’m an optimistic, can-do guy. To me, it hasn’t happened in the past but the future is the future.”
Ngannou and Jones teased a possible fight with each other for over a year when both men were in the UFC, but the bout never came to fruition. After Ngannou left the promotion in 2023 to sign with the PFL, Jones then finally made his move up to heavyweight, claiming the vacant UFC title by beating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.
But despite now fighting for different promotions, the heat between Ngannou and Jones never fully dissipated, with the two even having an impromptu face off at a PFL event last year. And though UFC CEO Dana White is staunchly opposed to co-promotion and has repeatedly dismissed the idea of working with the PFL for this, Davis thinks the odds are better than you might think.
“If I was a betting person, if you gave me even odds, no,” Davis said. “Even odds are is it likely? Is that a good bet? No. But if you gave me four to one? I would take those odds. I would take that bet. So do I think it’s possible? Yes. Likely? No.
“And do I think, since it’s the biggest fight that could ever be made in MMA in perhaps the last or next decade, that’s why I think it’s possible. Because it’s so big and it’s so thrilling. And sometimes people say, ‘What the eff. We’re going to find a way to do it. Let’s find a way to do it.’ So that’s why I think it’s possible.”
And while a co-promotion between the UFC and PFL does seem extremely unlikely, there is one thing that can always change the equation: money. Dana White is notoriously opposed to MMA fighters crossing over into boxing, but famously allowed Conor McGregor to do so against Floyd Mayweather for one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
Something similar could happen here, Davis suggests, especially with the the involvment of Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia. Alalshikh has invested heavily in combat sports over the past few years, and already has relationships with both promotions, and has shown a desire to make the biggest fights possible. Given that, Davis believes that anything is possible.
“I have a ton of respect for Dana,” Davis said. “He built the entire industry. Does he want to be part of the biggest fight in 10 years, that he made happen? Turki is the biggest man in combat sports. Could he make the biggest fight happen? Sure. I just think there’s a lot of cool stuff that could happen here. I’m the least important guy here. Turki and Dana are the most important guys here. I’m just the guy that said yes.”
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