Jon Jones is an all-time great, but would be no match for an ‘athletic freak’ like Francis Ngannou.
That’s according to ex-UFC fighter and current PFL boss Dan Hardy, who believes Ngannou’s ability to ‘legitimately punch holes in people’ would prove too much for an ‘aging’ Jones.
UFC heavyweight champion Jones, 37, remains in a tricky position in terms of his fighting future as negotiations to fight Tom Aspinall in a unification bout continue.
Aspinall, the UFC interim heavyweight champion, publicly declared that he has already accepted a fight with ‘Bones’, but the latter has never admitted any interest in wanting to fight the Brit.
This has lead the MMA community and big personalities in the sport to come up with alternatives if Jones feels that fighting Aspinall could potentially tarnish his legacy.
Donn Davis, founder of the PFL, which is the UFC’s biggest rival MMA promotion, even suggested this week that Jones could make a whopping $50million if he fought Ngannou, who is his heavyweight champion.
This follows reports of Jones asking for six months and a huge paycheck to get in the Octagon with Aspinall and unify the heavyweight division.
Jones vs Ngannou was the most talked about fight in the UFC until ‘The Predator’ left the company following disputes with its CEO Dana White.
Ngannou has since gone on to become PFL heavyweight champion after stepping into the ring with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Although he is one year older than Jones, Hardy believes a ‘muscles on muscles’ Ngannou would come out on top in a mega-fight with Jones.
“Yes, I think he does,” Hardy told talkSPORT.com when asked if he thinks Ngannou would beat Jones in the cage while previewing PFL’s upcoming World Tournament.
“The thing is with Jon Jones, I have admired Jon Jones for a long time, both as a fighter and martial artist.”
“We did a lot of autograph signings back in the day and he was always great with the fans…He is a good dude but he is aging.
“We all age. I wake up in the morning and I hit the bag. Then the next day I wake up and I feel like a bus hit me.
“I don’t heal the same way that I used to and that is the same for everybody.
“We saw that with Jon’s pectoral injury. Him getting to the cage healthy at this stage is a real challenge.”
Hardy fought in the UFC between 2008 and 2012, locking horns with the likes of Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre, who he fought for the middleweight title at UFC 111.
Jones, meanwhile, defended his UFC heavyweight title last November, a year-and-a-half after winning it against Ciryl Gane, by stopping Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 with a sickening spinning back kick.
The fight was delayed 12 months after Jones suffered a nasty pectoral injury in training, which left a golden opportunity for Aspinall, who claimed interim status during the time ‘Bones’ was out.
“When he said six months to prepare for Aspinall, my first thought was, ‘He is not going to be able to train for six months without getting a major injury somehow,” Hardy added.
“It goes the same for all of these guys. What I will say about Francis Ngannou is similar to Yoel Romero, he is an absolute athletic freak.
“He has muscles on muscles. He has such a low body fat percentage. He is so physically well balanced.
“Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight at this point in his career, he is still 30 pounds off Tom Aspinall.
“I think Tom beats Jon Jones at this stage. The thing that undermines Jon in my mind more than anything else is his seeming lack of confidence to fight these guys.
“That honestly is the biggest thing. If I dig into it deep, it is his lack of confidence to fight Tom Aspinall. I feel like you would absolutely feel the same way about Francis Ngannou.
“The man can legitimately punch holes in people. I feel like Jon is one of the all time greats. In the current heavyweight picture, it is Ngannou vs Aspinall. They are the top two guys now.”
Ngannou made his PFL debut in October 2024, flattening Renan Ferreira in the first round just months after consecutive defeats to Fury and Joshua.
The Cameroonian is currently deciding his next step in the combat sports world, which Hardy believes will be announced soon.
“From what I understand, Francis wants some activity whether that is boxing or MMA. I think he wants to have another run out very soon,” he concluded.
“I don’t think it would be a bad idea for him to have another boxing run out. I think there are some really interesting fights there for him.
“I think he can make a good chunk of cash while at the same time the PFL heavyweight division keeps developing…
“There are good options for him in MMA. I don’t know who I would put on the table right now unless it is Jon Jones for $50 million or even Tom Aspinall.
“Give Tom Aspinall the $50 million. However it plays out, I don’t get involved in those high-end dealings.
“One thing I will say is if we do get Ngannou versus any of those MMA champions that I have mentioned, then we need to rent out the Colosseum or something.
“I don’t think anywhere else would do it justice.”
The 2025 PFL World Tournament starts on April 3 and runs right through until August, with the winner banking $500,000, and Hardy will be live on commentary throughout the events in Orlando, Florida.
British and Irish talent such as Nathan Kelly, Jake Hadley and Fabian Edwards all feature in the opening rounds.
