5 reasons why Francis Ngannou would destroy Jon Jones

Last weekend, Francis Ngannou picked up arguably the biggest win of his UFC career. He successfully defended his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane - his toughest opponent to date.

Assuming he stays with the UFC going forward, one name who might be up next for Ngannou is former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Could ‘The Predator’ beat the former pound-for-pound king?

Based on what the native of Cameroon has shown in the octagon so far, the answer is almost definitely yes. Jones would undoubtedly be the biggest test Ngannou has ever faced. However, he’d also be one ‘The Predator’ would hope to pass with flying colors.

On that note, here are five reasons why Ngannou would destroy Jon Jones if the two were to meet in the octagon:

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#5. Jon Jones would barely hold a reach advantage over Francis Ngannou

Jon Jones’ long reach has allowed him to abuse his past opponents, but would that work in a fight with Francis Ngannou?

Jon Jones is undoubtedly an immensely talented fighter. While he has clearly trained hard to reach the top level, he has also been blessed with some unique physical attributes.

‘Bones’ holds one of the longest reaches in UFC history. His reach measures 84.5”, which has been a key factor in his success inside the octagon. During his 14-year career with the promotion, Jones has kept opponents such as Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier and Rashad Evans at the end of his punches.

However, in a prospective fight with Francis Ngannou, while Jones would still hold a reach advantage, that certainly wouldn’t be as telling as it has been for most of his fighting career.

The Predator holds a long reach of his own – 83” to be exact. The fact that Ngannou has a naturally bigger frame than Jones suggests that the former 205 lbs kingpin might not be able to keep the former at the end of his strikes.

Interestingly, the only time Jones struggled to strike an opponent inside the octagon was against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 – a fighter with a lengthy reach in his own right.

Is it likely Ngannou would use his own jab to keep Jones at bay? Based on what we’ve seen from ‘The Predator’, it’s unlikely. However, it’s equally unlikely that ‘Bones’ could jab Ngannou to death too, and without that ability, the former light-heavyweight champion may well lose.

#4. At heavyweight, Jon Jones might not be as quick

Francis Ngannou’s explosive speed might be enough to surprise Jon Jones.

Francis Ngannou’s punching power might be the most vaunted part of his overall game. However, ‘The Predator’ is also a sneakily fast fighter who can spot gaps in his opponents’ defense, and capitalize in a matter of seconds.

So how would this surprising speed play in a potential fight with Jon Jones? It’s likely it would serve Ngannou very well indeed. From what we’ve seen over the years, Jones is not a slow light heavyweight by any means. However, it’s also arguable that he has never displayed the kind of explosive speed we’ve seen Ngannou use to take out the likes of Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic.

The fact that ‘Bones’ has only ever landed two standing knockouts – his 2017 win over Daniel Cormier and his 2011 win over Mauricio Rua – stands testament to that.

Moreover, as a bulked-up heavyweight, it’s arguable that Jones would lose even the speed he showed at 205 lbs. Would that slow him by heavyweight standards? Absolutely not, but against a fighter as explosive as Francis Ngannou, that may prove to be the case.

Considered the same, it’s easy to envision a scenario in which a slowed-down Jones might throw a strike at Ngannou. He might then find himself knocked silly by one of the heavyweight champion’s sledgehammers.

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#3. Francis Ngannou’s takedown defense now looks stronger

Going by his recent fights, Francis Ngannou’s wrestling may no longer be a weak point.

One area of Francis Ngannou’s game that was an Achilles heel was his wrestling. His lack of takedown defense led to his 2018 defeat against Stipe Miocic, the first time ‘The Predator’ suffered a loss in his MMA career.

However, since then, we’ve seen real evidence that the Cameroon native has shored up his wrestling significantly. In his rematch with Miocic in 2021, Ngannou was able to shrug off the takedowns of the former NCAA Division I All-American, and even took him down with a takedown of his own at one point.

In his most recent victory, he took Ciryl Gane – a man who has shown excellent takedown defense in his own right – down on multiple occasions. Ngannou used those takedowns to secure a unanimous decision victory.

Before these bouts, it might’ve been wise to expect Jon Jones – one of the greatest wrestlers in UFC history – to use his takedowns to ground Ngannou and eventually beat him. However, that doesn’t seem likely now.

Instead, when you consider Ngannou’s size, strength and improved wrestling, it seems more likely that Jones may not be able to get him to the ground, particularly as the latter favors takedowns from the clinch.

So if ‘Bones’ cannot put ‘The Predator’ on his back, can he really win the fight? The likely answer is no.

#2. Jon Jones may be too rusty to beat Francis Ngannou

Jon Jones has not fought since his 2020 clash with Dominick Reyes.

While Jon Jones is still only 34, he has been fighting in the UFC for well over a decade, dating back to the summer of 2008. While he’s clearly one of the promotion’s all-time greats, is it fair to wonder if he’s past his prime now?

It’s definitely an interesting question. Technically speaking, he ought to be at his athletic peak right now. However, the last few times we saw him in the octagon, he certainly didn’t look at his best.

The best version of ‘Bones’ probably would’ve destroyed opponents like Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. However, in 2019 and 2020, Jones only just edged past all three men, needing a split decision to beat Santos, in particular.

More importantly, since his win over Reyes in February 2020, Jones has not set foot into the octagon for another fight. He has clearly been training during the two years since then. However, as his hiatus is self-imposed rather than injury-related, there’s definitely a chance he could return with some ring rust.

If that’s the case, Francis Ngannou – who has beaten three opponents in the period Jones has been away from the octagon – is not the kind of fighter the latter would want to return to action against.

‘The Predator’ is simply too sharp, quick and brutal for someone with ring rust to handle, even for a fighter as skilled as Jones. If the UFC were to make this fight as Jones’ big comeback, the latter would be favored to lose.

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#1. Francis Ngannou hits too hard for Jon Jones to handle

Francis Ngannou is arguably the hardest-hitting fighter in UFC history.

It sounds crazy, but for the most part, despite fighting in the UFC for over a decade and entering the octagon on 22 occasions, Jon Jones’ chin remains surprisingly untested.

Sure, he has been hit hard at times, and in that sense, it might be fair to suggest that he has an excellent level of durability. The likes of Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson and Dominick Reyes have all shown knockout power and all hit ‘Bones’, but he was comfortably able to recover.

However, it’s also fair to say that he has never been hit by a fighter with the brute power of Francis Ngannou. Essentially, nobody in UFC history hits quite as hard as ‘The Predator’.

The Cameroon native has knocked out basically every opponent he has ever faced. His finishes of Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik count amongst the most terrifying in UFC history. All three men looked like they’d literally been knocked dead by Ngannou’s punches.

An educated guess would suggest that even if a fighter had a renowned iron chin, they wouldn’t be able to survive a clean shot from Ngannou.

So how would a career 205 lber like Jones handle one of Ngannou’s hardest shots? The likely answer is not very well. Sure, ‘The Predator’ would have to land that clean shot, but over five rounds, it’s likely he’d catch Jones at least once.

As we’ve seen on so many occasions before, for a puncher as powerful as Francis Ngannou, one shot is usually all it takes to win.