UFC inching towards Francis Ngannou – Jon Jones in March

Jan 22, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Francis Ngannou celebrates the win against Ciryl Gane during UFC 270 at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC is getting closer than ever to booking one of the biggest fights of all time. Ariel Helwani said on the MMA Hour yesterday that talks were starting to progress between the promotion and current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3).

Ngannou’s contract is set to expire in December making the heavyweight champion a free agent. The champ is currently recovering from a knee injury that’s had him on the sidelines since this past January when he defeated Ciryl Gane.

It was reported last week that the UFC is currently targeting March for the heavyweight debut of Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC). Jones has been preparing for his heavyweight debut for years now and he’s just been waiting for the perfect fight to materialize.

The rumor mill kicked into another gear with Ngannou’s trainer hinted that something could be going down in early March. There’s too much smoke here to not have some fire.

UFC 285

UFC 285 goes down on March 4th in Las Vegas. Last week it was reported that the UFC has penciled in Jon Jones for the headliner of that event. Of course, nothing is finalized and contracts aren’t signed, but that’s what the promotion wants.

The plan is to have Francis Ngannou return as he would defend his heavyweight title against arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Jon Jones. It would be the biggest fight in the history of the UFC’s heavyweight division.

My guess is that news will start coming out in the next couple of weeks that Ngannou has signed a new contract. Then it’s just a matter of getting Ngannou cleared medically and then you’ll see things come together very fast. Jon Jones – Francis Ngannou is closer than ever to becoming a reality and fans should be pumped.