Francis Ngannou has been chasing a superfight with Jon Jones for several years to no avail.

The Cameroonian cage fighter was crowned UFC heavyweight champion in 2021 when he exacted his revenge over Stipe Miocic with a stunning knockout.

Francis Ngannou wants to fight Jon Jones but doesn’t expect it to ever happenCredit: Getty

At the time, Jones had vacated his UFC light heavyweight title in order to move up to MMA’s glamour division.

Fans called for the pair to square for Ngannou’s belt, however, their timelines didn’t match up.

Ngannou split from the UFC in January 2023 before Jones laid claim to the vacant title by beating Cyril Gane two months later.

‘The Predator’ then signed for rival promotion PFL where he made his long-awaited company debut last October with a knockout win over Renan Ferreira for their version of the heavyweight title.

Saudi combat sports mogul Turki Alalshikh, who staged Ngannou’s boxing bouts with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, is keen to get both men in the cage together this year.

However, that would require UFC president Dana White to cross-promote the show with the PFL – a concept he has previously been adamantly against.

PFL CEO Peter Murray told talkSPORT last November that they will get behind the fight, although Ngannou anticipates that White’s stance will be a ‘massive obstacle’.

“If you can get past Dana White, it could happen [but] that’s a massive obstacle,” Ngannou told Sportsbook Review.

“But personally I don’t care. I’m doing well. I’m doing my stuff at my pace. I don’t care. That won’t change my sleep for me.

“Finishing my career without fighting Jon Jones would be okay.

Jones picked up Ngannou’s vacant UFC heavyweight title last yearCredit: Getty Images – Getty

“I have tried to fight Jon Jones for four years since I fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik back in 2020.

“I’ve been trying to fight Jon Jones and then they were holding it out like a trap until the moment that I was about to leave and then they said, ‘Okay, here’s the Jon Jones fight.’  But it was bait. I felt they were very tricky.”

Ngannou is expected to compete twice in 2025: once in boxing and once in MMA.

The man who will be standing across from him in the PFL Smart Cage is currently unclear.

But in the squared circle, Ngannou insists his next opponent will be former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Wilder was widely considered to be the hardest-hitting boxer in the world at his peak while Ngannou is MMA’s equivalent.

Deontay Wilder packs a serious punchCredit: Getty

Now, the 38-year-old is out to prove that he packs a bigger punch.

“Maybe not in his past two fights, but Deontay Wilder is known as a guy that knocks everybody out or tries to knock you out,” Ngannou said.

“I’m going against that guy, and I myself can knock someone out. Deep inside me there is a little bit of ego, like I know I hit harder.

“I’m saying from my experience that we will have that ego that we both want to prove ‘no, it’s me [who hits harder].

“Who is the biggest hitter between you and Deontay? Those sorts of conversations are popping around a little bit and even though you think you don’t care about it, it sticks somewhere in your mind.”