$50 million Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight a pipe dream, Tom Aspinall fight unlikely to happen predicts ex-UFC veteran

The uncertainty surrounding Jon Jones' next potential opponent recently caught the attention of Dan Hardy. The former UFC fighter made a firm statement, asserting that neither Francis Ngannou nor Tom Aspinall can fight Jones next.

In addition to being linked with a title unification fight against Aspinall, 'Bones' has also frequently been associated with a potential matchup against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, Hardy shared an interesting perspective behind his take on the matter and said:

"Contractually, I don't think that Jon has much of a say in it if I'm honest which might be honestly quite frustrating for him to know that there is a big chunk of money on the table elsewhere but at the same time you know I think if you put [$] 50 million on the table, he would fight either Francis or Tom Aspinall."

Hardy continued:

"Unfortunately, he [Jones] is not in a contract situation where he can fight Ngannou, and no one is going to give him [$] 50 million to fight Tom Aspinall. So, my concern is we don't get either of those fights and it would be a shame..."

Check out Dan Hardy's comments on Jon Jones below (10:47):

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Colby Covington dismisses a potential fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall

In November 2023, Tom Aspinall was crowned as the interim UFC heavyweight champion. Since then, he has sought a title unification clash against Jon Jones. After months of dismissing the possibility of facing Aspinall, Jones indicated that he would be open to the matchup, provided he receives a substantial payout.

Interestingly, UFC welterweight star Colby Covington has a different opinion. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Covington noted that Jones has set unreasonable terms for a fight with Aspinall.

He said:

"It's [the fight] never going to happen. He's [Jones] asking for unreasonable terms. He's asking for $30-50 million...He's not gonna do it. He know he's going to get destroyed. He knows Aspinall's going to knock him out, it's not even going to be close."

Check out Colby Covington's comments below (18:17):