Jon Jones may have retired from MMA again, but that doesn’t mean he’s done competing. Just a day after openly admitting that he wants out of his UFC contract to pursue a long-awaited fight with Francis Ngannou, ‘Bones’ has now revealed another unusual path he wants to explore next: boxing.

In a behind-the-scenes video that quickly went viral online, the former UFC heavyweight champion seemed genuinely excited about the idea of leaving mixed martial arts entirely and testing himself with only his hands.

“I think getting out of my UFC contract is very, very possible,” he said. “I need to find the right people and the right channels.

“You know, I really wanted to box. Like, if I were to put all my energy into just my hands, combinations, and punching power, I think I’d really surprise a lot of people. I would love to box; that would be a lot of fun.”

Despite being known as one of the most dominant finishers in MMA history, ‘Bones’ has had surprisingly few stoppages that came via punches alone. Most of his 11 official KO/TKO victories involved elbows, knees, or kicks.

If you exclude them all, he has six wins where he used his boxing skills. These were against Brad Bernard, Carlos Eduardo, Ryan Verrett, Parker Porter, Moyses Gabin, and the most recent was against Alexander Gustafsson in their rematch back in 2018.

But still, he is confident in his hands, as the comments landed just a day after Jon Jones witnessed Ngannou viciously knock out Philipe Lins at the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card. Sitting on broadcast, ‘Bones’ praised Ngannou’s performance but also noted that Lins looked really undersized and hesitant to engage.

Still, it was clear that seeing ‘The Predator’ thrive outside of the UFC fueled Jones’ interest in life outside of the Octagon.

“I’ve got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract,” Jones said about potentially facing Ngannou. “That’s going to be the difficult part if this fight is going to happen. I don’t think Dana White is interested in doing business with Francis.

“Doing it with MVP would probably be the only way to make it happen. If we can get out of my contract, that would be great.”

Lucky for him, ‘The Predator’ likes to box as well. Despite being 0-2 after facing Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, there is no denying that Francis Ngannou loves to use his heavy hands, as we all witnessed last night. So, a boxing bout between the two can surely be the go-to option if ‘Bones’ wants to trade the octagon for a ring.

He may even end up bringing fierce rivals together by doing so, as MVP is more than willing to co-promote Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones with UFC.

Nakisa Bidarian offers to work with the UFC to make Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou happen

That is why the fight suddenly feels more realistic than ever. Nakisa Bidarian made it clear that MVP is willing to work with the UFC to finally make Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou happen.

“If you look at the boxing landscape, co-promotion happens all the time,” Bidarian said in the MVP MMA post-event press conference. “If you look at MMA outside the UFC, co-promotion happens all the time. If you look at the NBA, they go to Europe and play other teams. They go to Asia, and they play against Asian teams. They go to Australia, and they play against Australian teams.

“It happens all the time. The biggest moment the UFC has had in history was a co-promotion. It was with Mayweather and McGregor. It was the biggest associated event Dana has touched in terms of revenue, so hopefully there is a door; hopefully that can happen. We’re more than willing.”

The MVP co-founder insisted there are no hurt feelings from MVP’s side and that the sport deserves to see Jones and Ngannou finally settle their differences after years of buildup. Given how long fans have been begging for this clash, it is hard to disagree.

“We’re more than willing,” he added. “There are no hurt feelings. There’s no, ‘Hey, we can’t work with them because they take shots at us.’

“Exactly the opposite: Let’s do it and make it a moment the world stops and enjoys these two men who are at the crescendo of their careers, probably given their careers and wear and tear, especially with Jon. The fans deserve it. The sport deserves it, and we’d love to do it.”

The biggest obstacle now seems to be Dana White. Bidarian stated he isn’t expecting the UFC CEO to agree, especially given the bad blood surrounding Ngannou’s departure from the promotion.

But, for the first time in years, the issue isn’t the fighters wanting the bout. Jon Jones wants it, Francis Ngannou wants it, and MVP is willing to help make it happen. The ball now is in Dana White’s court.

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