Jon Jones happy he fought Ciryl Gane instead of Francis Ngannou in heavyweight debut: “Kind of nice”

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is happy that he faced Ciryl Gane and not Francis Ngannou in March.

‘Bones’ is currently slated to return to the cage in November at UFC 295. There, he will face Stipe Miocic, back for the first time since a 2021 knockout loss to Francis Ngannou. The bout will be Jon Jones’ first heavyweight title defense, having won the title in March against Ciryl Gane.

As the story goes, Jon Jones wasn’t originally expected to face ‘Bon Gamin’ that night. However, after Francis Ngannou failed to reach a new deal with the UFC, he was stripped of his heavyweight title and moved to PFL. At UFC 285 in March, Ciryl Gane was easily submitted in the first round.

While many fans were frustrated to miss out on Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou, ‘Bones’ was actually kind of happy. During a recent edition of the Overdogs Podcast, he was asked about his return in March. There, the all-time great joked that he was pretty happy that it was Ciryl Gane in there on fight night this spring.

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(via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“The narrative has switched somehow,” Jon Jones stated when asked about his canceled plans for a fight with Francis Ngannou. “Everyone’s saying I waited three years, and I came back exactly when Francis was gone. That’s actually not true, when I got back, Francis was very much on the roster still. I could have been his last fight.”

He continued, “But instead he opted out and Ciryl Gane took Francis’ spot. I came back ready for Francis Ngannou, for sure. I’m not going to lie though, knowing that I was fighting Ciryl Gane instead of Francis, it was kind of nice! Francis is a scary joker.”

What do you make of these comments from Jon Jones? How do you think a fight would’ve gone with Francis Ngannou?