Francis Ngannou breaks character, calls Jon Jones the "GOAT" and expresses regret over missed opportunity to fight him

Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have gone back and forth on social media for a very long time now. Prior to Jones' comeback at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane, many believed Ngannou would be the one to welcome 'Bones' back into the octagon.

Francis Ngannou, however, left the UFC after defending his belt against Gane at UFC 270, essentially vacating the heavyweight throne, which Jones claimed upon his return.

The two have not stopped trading barbs. In fact, Jones reacted to Ngannou signing with the PFL by tweeting:

"Calling yourself the baddest man on the planet from across the street, who does that? Lol"

To this, Ngannou replied by stating:

"Then cross the street"

While Ngannou appears to be challenging Jones to come to the PFL to fight him, nothing is clear. Surprisingly though, the Cameroonian, when speaking to Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark on the DC & RC show, still labeled Jones as the "GOAT."

He said:

"I will always have a regret of not fighting Jon Jones. I think you know, being in the sport, being in this position, what you want to do is to test yourself against somebody like Jon Jones, who stands as a GOAT of the sport.”

Check out the whole interview here (12:51):

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Francis Ngannou signs with PFL, Jon Jones reacts on Twitter

Earlier this week, it was announced that Francis Ngannou had signed with the PFL and would compete in their Superfight division, with a number of other bonuses added to his contract.

According to the terms of the deal, Francis Ngannou would be allowed to compete in boxing matches, on top of a number of other perks. The former UFC champion will work with the organization to create PFL Africa, a new MMA project in Africa to help promote talent in the region. It is also believed that 'The Predator' has seen a large rise in pay.

Jon Jones took to Twitter to react to the news, with a series of tweets.

Likening himself to famed NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Jones tweeted:

"My man wins one Super Bowl, transferred to a top arena football league, and then claims to be better than Brady. That’s what I’m hearing right now."

He further added:

"You notice that! Wasn’t calling himself the baddest when he was still a free agent. He signed safely behind a new organization, and now suddenly the baddest thing walking. Like we all haven’t seen him quitting inside that cage before."

Check out Jon Jones' tweets here: