Francis Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick is optimistic that the fight with Jon Jones will happen.
For years, Jones has talked about moving up to heavyweight but it has not happened still. However, many are hopeful the fight between Jones and Ngannou will happen and the hope is it happens at UFC 285 in March.
Eric Nicksick on Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones
“I think it’s 50-50, to be honest with you when you’re talking business and timeline,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “I’m confident from what I saw from Francis a couple of weeks ago that if we had to be ready for March, I think we can get him ready, but I think it is cutting it a little bit short because he had to go back home and renew his visa. And then obviously they still haven’t announced anything yet with his contract and where they’re at, so 50-50 for me.”
“I’m hoping for this thing, fingers are crossed that we can get this deal done. If it’s not March, maybe it’s April or May, or something like that. I do know that they’re shooting for March and that Jon Jones is the opponent. Everything else is out of my hands, but if they tell me, ‘Hey, we’re fighting March 4,’ we’ll have our guy ready, that’s for sure.”
As of right now, there are no contracts sent out, but as a Vegas guy, Eric Nicksick says he would bet on Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones happening this year.
“I’m a Vegas boy, so I’m always betting on the table to win,” Nicksick said. “I’m not a don’t pass line guy, so put it on let’s make this thing happen. I’m optimistic we’ll get this thing done.”
Francis Ngannou has not fought since he beat Ciryl Gane to defend his heavyweight title for the first time last January. Since then, he has been rehabbing his knee as he entered his fight against Gane with a knee injury. Jones, on the other hand, has not fought since UFC 247 in February 2020 when he beat Dominick Reyes by decision.
