The UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou hasn’t defended his title since January this year. Long-term recovery from knee surgery has plagued Ngannou since, and although rumor has it that the UFC is eyeing a December return for the 265-pound champ, his head coach, Eric Nicksick, disagrees. Where they concur is on Ngannou’s next opponent: former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“The fight that makes the most sense is obviously Jon Jones. That’s the fight we all want. The way I look at it is, Jon Jones has been out for two and a half years. If we can’t do it in December, and depending on the way the UFC schedule plays out, maybe [it can happen] in January or February, somewhere in that timeline.
Head Coach: Jon Jones is Ngannou’s Biggest Priority
Jon hasn’t fought in so long, Stipe hasn’t fought since Francis beat him, so that will be two years for Stipe in March, so might as well wait another month for the super fight and the fight to make.
Honestly, for me, I’d love the Stipe fight again, or the Jones fight, but if I had my choice between the two, obviously I want to compete against the best to ever do it, in my opinion, and that’s Jon Jones.”
The other elephant in the room is Francis Ngannou’s UFC contract. It still appears to be up in the air, with Ngannou publicly airing his various grievances with the promotion. Although UFC president Dana White insists that Ngannou will re-sign with the organization, he still has yet to do so.
Eric Nicksick says regardless of the outcome of his ongoing contract negotiation, December might be too soon for Francis Ngannou to return to the Octagon. Early 2023 might be a little more realistic.
“Once he gets back home and the [UFC Performance Institute] reevaluates him — because he was home for the last month to see where his knee is at — and I speak to [his manager] regularly to see what’s going on with the business side of everything, and I don’t think December is going to be a realistic timeline with where he’s at with the rehab. I think it’s only been five months because he had the surgery in March, so October would be six months for him.
With that type of injury, that type of surgery, I think December’s [making] it a little close, to be honest with you. But you never know with this guy, he might just come right back and be ready to go, and you never know what the UFC is going to be putting on our plate, either.”
Should the UFC go ahead and book Ngannou vs Jones? Let us know in the comments.
