If Jon Jones is Already Giving up on Francis Ngannou Fight Then He Never Wanted the Smoke Anyway

Jon Jones could retire right now and never throw another punch in an octagon again, and his legacy as one of the truly great MMA fighters of all time, if not the greatest, would be secure.

Still, Jones recently seemed intent on proving he can leap between divisions and still dominate, as evidenced by his desire to take on heavyweight Francis Ngannou, who has won eight fights since 2016 and ended all of them within the first round.

Unfortunately for UFC fans everywhere, Jones has now confirmed that he will not be fighting Ngannou after negotiations broke down.

If Jones really wanted to prove he had the ability to stick in heavyweight, he would have gone out of his way to make this happen.

There is minimal incentive for Jones to make this fight occur, other than creating an opportunity for him to prove himself as a heavyweight. If he wants, he could just stay at light heavyweight and not have to worry about getting knocked out by a bulldozer like Ngannou.

Jones has mastered the art of either avoiding powerful blows or sustaining them throughout the course of the fight. That skill against Ngannou's unmatched raw strength would have made for an entertaining battle, but the financial end of things seems to be too much of an obstacle.