Francis Ngannou is preparing for a showdown with Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut. But the former UFC heavyweight champion took time to respond to the biggest news of the day and the injury to Jon Jones.
Francis Ngannou Calls Injury To Jon Jones ‘Sad News’
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was one of many looking forward to seeing Jon Jones defend his title against Stipe Miocic.
Unfortunately, Jones suffered an injury in training and the bout for UFC 295 next month has been scrapped. Instead, Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich meet for the interim belt live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
As for Ngannou, he is preparing for his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
“I think it’s sad news,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie of the injury to Jones. “It’s never good news when athletes get injured. Basically, in training. I hope he recovers well.
“I was very excited to watch that fight and see who was going to win that fight.”
Ngannou successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title once after knocking out Miocic in 2021, besting Ciryl Gane to unify the belts.
He would later vacate the title and sign with the PFL. Jones would claim the vacant title and was set to make his first title defense vs. Miocic.
In 2018, Ngannou challenged Miocic for the belt and lost by decision. He is currently 17-3 in mixed martial arts bouts.
Francis Ngannou: Injury Could Happen To Anybody
Video of the injury suffered by Jones was released on social media, and Ngannou saw the clip.
“It’s something that can happen to everybody,” he said. “It could’ve happened here. It could happen to anybody. I don’t think that’s part of the decision, but yes, it sucks, though.”
While Fury’s boxing heavyweight titles will not be on the line vs. Ngannou, he knows the importance of this fight.
“I’m out here living my dream, living in the big stage,” he said. “I think whether there’s an undisputed champion out there or not, I’m happy to be part of the game.”
