Turki Alalshikh has hinted at yet another seismic matchup: a potential showdown between former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and reigning undisputed champ Jon Jones. A couple of days ago, Ngannou had replied to one of Jones’ tweets about ‘blessings’ to remind him and re-ignite their old feud.
Blessings make haters uncomfortable, but they can’t change it.
There’s only one fight, the right fight that will multiply your blessings.#NgannouVSJones https://t.co/7HhNDM4OD6— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) November 30, 2024
But since Ngannou is now the PFL champion, having quit the UFC after a rather public feud with bossman Dana White, this seems like a fantastical proposition at best. White isn’t particularly fond of Ngannou either. Ngannou, during his time in the UFC, had raised issues like fair wages for fighters, which White has never been fond of.
Ngannou, on the other hand, has had quite a journey since his last days in the UFC. He joined the PFL on a contract that allowed him to make at least $8 million for each fight and promised his opponent a guaranteed $2 million just to show up. On top of this, he has had successful ventures in boxing, having taken on the biggest names in the heavyweight division like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Losing his son, then returning to MMA with an emotional but triumphant tour to Saudi Arabia where he took the PFL title from Rennan Fereira has also cemented his story as an underdog folklore hero. And the only part White has played in this story has been as the guy who lost the bidding war to PFL over retaining Ngannou.
Dana White just went on a rant about how much he hates Francis Ngannou pic.twitter.com/GpfB5eq2p2
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) October 26, 2024
Needless to say, he has been bitter and vocal about it, to the point where he’s called him ‘not a good guy’ and someone he doesn’t want to be in business with. Ngannou has also responded to these statements by asking the UFC boss to move on. But that then puts a dent on his plans to fight Jones.
This is where Turki Alalkish comes in.
Few figures have been as instrumental in shaping monumental events in combat sports as Alalshikh. From orchestrating blockbuster bouts like Fury vs. Ngannou to hosting UFC events in Saudi Arabia, his influence has turned ambitious ideas into headline-grabbing realities.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Alalshikh reflected on the scenario and claimed there were discussions he would like to have to with Ngannou.
“I have on the table two options for Francis. One in MMA and one in boxing I want to discuss…For the MMA, my answer is, all the time we want to do the biggest things….We need to send Dana White to the moon.”
Bringing ‘The Predator‘ and Jones together in the Octagon—or even in a cross-promotional setting—would be a historic event, years in the making. During his time as the UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou had repeatedly called out Jones but the latter was out of commission for 3 years during that time, claiming he was putting on weight to move up a weight class. Jones then joined the heavyweight division, just weeks after Ngannou’s contract expired.
However, with Alalshikh’s throwing around some of Jones’ “f**k you” money, he could be the key to making it a reality.
Alalshikh has big plans for Ngannou
Alalshikh’s ambitions don’t limit themselves to the Jones fight. He has even bigger plans for Ngannou, and they may come into focus when the two meet in December.
Ngannou is expected to attend the highly anticipated Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 bout in Saudi Arabia, where Alalshikh intends to discuss pairing him up with Deontay Wilder.
“Me also, maybe we’ll see Ngannou against Wilder….I need to sit with Wilder to see his condition….Francis will come to me in December to watch the rematch, and we have a lot of business together.”
So, it will be up to Ngannou to decide whether he wants to venture back into boxing or stick to MMA to find out who the ‘baddest man on the planet’ really is.
