Francis Ngannou Listed as Favorite in Opening Odds for Potential Fight with Jon Jones

• Ngannou coming off 20-second KO win at UFC 249 and rumors are swirling about a fight with Jones
• Is Ngannou vs Jones likely?
• Read on for the odds and our early preview for this potential fight here

For years UFC fans have clamored for Jon Jones to move up in weight to heavyweight. “Bones” has reigned over the light heavyweight division for years, yet he has been reluctant to move up until recently.

Back at UFC 249, Francis Ngannou was taking on Jairzinho Rozenstruik in what appeared to be a number one contender bout at heavyweight. Ngannou was a sizeable favorite but no one expected him to KO Rozenstruik in 20 seconds as he did. It was a phenomenal performance. Since then, Jones and Ngannou have been tweeting back-and-forth talking about fighting each other. With both of them wanting to fight each other, sportsbooks have opened odds that sees the heavyweight contender opening as the favorite.

Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones Odds

Odds taken May 19

How Likely is a Fight Between Ngannou and Jones?

Both Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have no clear next opponent which makes a fight between them a possibility. Ngannou will have to wait for Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier have their trilogy sometime in the summer. Then, he’ll have to wait another couple of months to fight the winner. He has also been open about wanting to stay active and wants big fights. That’s where Jones comes in, especially due to the fact he has cleared out the light heavyweight division. He could rematch Dominick Reyes or give Jan Blachowicz a shot but moving up to heavyweight makes sense.

If you think you can handle my technique level that’s fine 🤷‍♂️ but I agree with you that you don’t have anything to prove in LHW division and that this should be for bags 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰 https://t.co/PtD04F3aSl

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 14, 2020

Yet, Dana White is skeptical of it happening. Ngannou even told me he isn’t sure the fight will happen as he doesn’t think Jones will move up to heavyweight. Bones have talked about moving up for years but based on recent interviews and his recent tweets, he seems serious this time around.

Right now, I’d give this fight like a 60 percent chance of happening. But, it all depends on whether or not the UFC will pay both fighters what they want for this super fight.

Should Ngannou Be the Favorite?

No.

I am shocked Francis Ngannou is the favorite over Jon Jones. Although Jones hasn’t looked as dominant in his last couple of fights there are reasons why. I’ve talked to his coaches where they say he didn’t feel challenged. So, he wasn’t motivated as much to train and fight but still did enough to win. Against a pure knockout artist in Ngannou, Jones would be challenged and motivated.

Jon Jones jumped into Francis Ngannou's IG comments 👀 pic.twitter.com/EoXeamS8Im

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 15, 2020

Although Ngannou is the proven commodity at heavyweight and has legit one-punch knockout power and we are talking about Jon Jones here. Jones has stellar wrestling, where we have already seen Miocic take Ngannou down at will, which leaves me to suspect the light heavyweight champ would be able to as well. He’s also one of, if not the smartest fighters ever. So, I wouldn’t expect Jones to just stand and trade with Ngannou. Rather, you’d see him mix in his wrestling and look to gas Ngannou and coast to a decision win.

How Will the Odds Change?

I think people will bet on Jon Jones and I think if they end up fighting he will become the favorite by the time they step into the Octagon.

The smart bettors saw what Miocic did to Ngannou and there is no reason why Jones couldn’t do the same. Jones also is so hard to hit and has proven when he does get hit, he has a solid chin. I think Jones is the much better fighter and to get him at plus money is massive value as I don’t expect that to last very long. Instead, I think we could very well see Jones be a -160 favorite by the time they fight.

Pick: Jon Jones (+130)