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The much-anticipated Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones superfight has lingered in the imaginations of MMA fans for years. Despite it seeming unlikely at present, PFL Chairman Donn Davis believes it’s still possible—though not probable.
Ngannou recently returned to MMA at PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants, where he secured an impressive win against Renan Ferreira. This victory reignited the conversation about a potential matchup between Ngannou and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. But with both men now fighting under different promotions—Ngannou with PFL and Jones with UFC—the chances of this fight coming to fruition appear slim. However, Davis remains optimistic.
“I’m a realist from a business standpoint, but I’m always optimistic,” Davis said during a recent Town Hall. “Even Jon Jones’s Tweets struck me as very interesting. ... That’s a lot different than the last three years.”
Ngannou and Jones were previously in talks for a bout when both were in the UFC, but Ngannou’s departure to the PFL in 2023 seemed to close the door on that dream matchup. Even so, their rivalry never fully cooled, with an impromptu face-off happening at a PFL event last year. And though UFC CEO Dana White is known to resist co-promotion efforts, Davis thinks there’s a chance this fight could still happen.
“If I was a betting person... Is it likely? No. But if you gave me four to one? I would take those odds,” Davis said. “Because it’s so big and it’s so thrilling. And sometimes people say, ‘What the eff. We’re going to find a way to do it.’”
A co-promotion between UFC and PFL may seem far-fetched, but as Davis noted, money talks. With the involvement of figures like Turki Alalshikh, who has been a major player in combat sports, there’s potential for surprises in the future.
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