In the long list of what-if fights, Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones is probably one of the biggest. After all, ‘The Predator’ was the champion when ‘Bones’ decided to move up to heavyweight in 2020, and was set to face the GOAT contender on his heavyweight debut. However, the Cameroonian left the Dana White-led promotion on acrimonious terms in early 2003, before Jones was ready to fight at heavyweight.

And even though the former UFC champ is currently in the PFL, fans are still holding out hope for a possible clash between the two titans. And Ngannou feels that this fight could happen if it wasn’t for one major ‘obstacle’. “I think it’s something that could potentially happen. If you can get past Dana White, it could happen [but] that’s a massive obstacle,” Ngannou said in a recent interview with Sportsbook Review. But UFC analyst and thorough company man, Chael Sonnen, disagrees completely with ‘The Predator’.

“All right, so let’s take a look at poor Francis. Poor Francis was in a world title fight in the fight capital of the world, in the world’s biggest promotion where he is going to headline. He was not the champion of the world. He wanted to be. He was going to be given that opportunity. It was at that time that it had already been announced by Dana White—this giant obstacle—that when Jon Jones returns to heavyweight, it will be for the belt. So now we don’t only [have] an obstacle, it doesn’t even fully have to do with Francis,” Sonnen said on his official YouTube channel.

What Sonnen is referring to is Ngannou’s UFC 260 title clash against Stipe Miocic in 2021. Indeed, by this time the UFC had announced that Jones would get the title shot straightaway as soon as he moved up to heavyweight. Ngannou, of course, beat Miocic in that fight and became the new champion.

“It’s important that you understand that because that one detail in and of itself, that timeline excludes the possibility that Francis was being picked on. It was an open statement that Jon will contend whenever Jon comes back, if he ever comes back, right into a world title fight that happened to be Francis. And what happened next? Jon came back… But somebody [Ngannou] blinked. That somebody I would view to be the obstacle in this equation,” Sonnen added.

But, Jones took three more years to move up. And by that time Ngannou had already left the UFC after serious disagreements over his contract. This is why ‘Uncle Chael’ feels that it was actually Ngannou who has been the real ‘obstacle’ in getting the Jones fight made. Which raises a very important question.

Is Chael Sonnen right about Francis Ngannou?

To be fair to Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones took three long years to gain enough weight to be able to compete at heavyweight. Not to mention he had demanded $30 million to fight Ngannou, which had led Dana White to insinuate that ‘Bones’ was ducking ‘The Predator’. Ngannou was really unhappy with the contract the UFC was offering him.

Sonnen seems to suggest that Ngannou should have stayed in the UFC despite these differences, but only for the Jones fight, which is a bit unfair. After all, Ngannou needs to make moves that are in his best interest and not hinge his future and finances on one fight. Moreover, it seems that the PFL, Ngannou, and even Jones are on-board for a heavyweight super-fight. The Saudis have even reportedly indicated they would be interested in financing Jones-Ngannou.

The reason this fight isn’t happening is that Dana White, who doesn’t like ‘The Predator’ or the PFL, doesn’t want it to happen. So Ngannou might be right in this case. Dana White may be the one obstacle standing in the way of a fight between ‘The Predator’ and ‘Bones’, Chael Sonnen’s protestations notwithstanding. What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on Ngannou’s comments about Dana White?