Daniel Cormier believes UFC could use Francis Ngannou to aid Jon Jones negotiations

Ngannou had already said that his contract ended before the UFC White House event in June, sparking discussion about potentially seeing him back inside the Octagon.

This still seems unlikely given his relationship with Dana White, but that doesn’t mean that the leading MMA promotion can’t take advantage of this situation in a different way.

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Daniel Cormier says UFC could take leverage from Jon Jones by using Francis Ngannou as an alternative

Daniel Cormier thinks the UFC could use the prospect of re-signing Francis Ngannou as a way to aid their negotiations with Jon Jones.

Despite Dana White’s initial reluctance to have him on the White House card in June, Jones confirmed that negotiations for his UFC return were underway at the start of this month.

Given the way that some of the promotion’s talks with ‘Bones’ have gone in the past, Cormier made the case on his YouTube channel for why the idea of bringing Ngannou back could be a bargaining chip.

“Jon Jones gives you too many problems to get on the White House or it’s not working, Francis Ngannou’s on the market,” he said. “You kind of pivot and go, ‘Well, Francis, can we get together and talk about maybe you fighting at the White House.’ That takes a little bit of that leverage from the Jones side.”

According to White, the UFC White House card will be announced tomorrow, meaning that the negotiations with Jones may have been completed before Ngannou was even an option.

It seems far more likely that we will see ‘The Predator’ make his MMA return on the same night that Ronda Rousey faces Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Netflix, though you can never say never in combat sports.

What was Francis Ngannou’s most impressive UFC performance?

‘The Predator’ knocked out Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and more during his stint in the Octagon.

Dana White blamed Jon Jones’ demands for preventing huge Francis Ngannou clash

Jon Jones coming to terms with the UFC for his return instead of Francis Ngannou is a lot more plausible right now.

That being said, back in 2020, it was Jones that Dana White put the blame on for preventing a huge clash between the two former UFC heavyweight champions.

The promotion’s CEO told ESPN MMA that ‘Bones’ had asked for “absurd” money to take the matchup, with White specifically saying that the American referenced wanting what Deontay Wilder was paid to fight Tyson Fury.

Despite it being arguably the most highly anticipated fight in the sport at the time, it got away from the fans when Ngannou didn’t come to terms with the UFC on a new deal in January of 2023.

He departed the promotion, leaving his vacant title to be won by Jones two months later.