Francis Ngannou admits Jon Jones is the greatest UFC fighter of all time
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has hailed current title holder Jon Jones is the greatest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts.
The Cameroonian never lost his world title after winning the belt from Stipe Miocic and defending against Ciryl Gane, being stripped when the UFC couldn't agree terms with him on a new deal. In the meantime, legendary light-heavyweight champion Jones moved up to heavyweight and picked up the belt to become a rare two-weight world champion.
And now preparing for his boxing debut against WBC champion Tyson Fury, Ngannou has admitted that Jones is the sport's greatest ever fighter. He is still keen to fight the American, and faced off with him at his new promotion PFL in Atlanta this June, but reckons that he would need to win that fight in order to fully prove himself.
Ngannou was appearing alongside his new coach Mike Tyson on Complex's GOAT Talk series when the question of MMA's greatest came up. After jokingly saying that his student was the correct answer, the boxing legend replied: “There’s so many of them I like, Jon Jones. Khabib [Nurmagomedov].
"There’s a lot of great ones coming up. New guys. I have to go with Jon Jones because of all the adversity and all he went through and he still managed to become champ.” Ngannou agreed, adding: "As long as I want to fight Jon Jones I still think he will be my GOAT MMA fighter, because he's just so good."
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Ngannou and Jones went head-to-head this summer while attending a PFL event at the OTE Arena earlier this summer, both indicating their interest in a fight. But with the Cameroonian now signed with MMA's No.2 promotion and Jones tied to the UFC, the matchup seems increasingly unlikely.
Instead, Jones will face Miocic in the headliner at Madison Square Garden on November 11 at UFC 295. That event will come just two weeks after Ngannou steps into the boxing ring for the first time in Saudi Arabia against Fury in a massive money boxing match to determine the 'baddest man on the planet'.
Ngannou has enlisted the iconic former heavyweight champion Tyson to add a finishing touch to his team, which is otherwise relatively unchanged from MMA. He is a massive underdog against Fury, but is believed to be one of the most fearsome punchers in the world and a legitimate threat to the unbeaten boxer.
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