Jake Paul wants the UFC to let Jon Jones go so Jones can finally fight Francis Ngannou. Bloody Elbow posted Paul’s call on X late Tuesday night, framing it as Paul asking the promotion to approve Jones’ release so the long-awaited clash can actually get made.
That’s the whole public record so far. The post doesn’t spell out Paul’s exact wording, and I’m not going to pretend it does. The ask is simple, though. If the UFC signs off, Jones walks, and the heavyweight fight people have argued about for years becomes something a promoter can sell.
The word “finally” in that post is doing a lot of work. Jones and Ngannou never shared a cage while they were both in the UFC.
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Where Jones stands
Jones’ last stretch went like this. He beat Dominick Reyes by decision at UFC 247 in a light heavyweight title fight plenty of people still think Reyes won. Then came a multi-year layoff. He returned at UFC 285, beat Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight belt, defended it against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden the following year, and later chose to retire.
Retired or not, he’s still plenty active online. After Reyes knocked out Azamat Murzakanov in the first round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24 and then went after Daniel Cormier on social media, Jones jumped in from his @JonnyBones account to needle his old opponent.
“I hope one day you heal from such a defeat. Close but no cigar,” Jones wrote.
A guy who’s still taking shots at a fight from UFC 247 doesn’t sound fully done with the business of fighting. Paul clearly read it the same way.
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Paul’s own calendar
Paul has his own fight to sort out first. He hasn’t boxed since last December, when Anthony Joshua stopped him and broke his jaw in multiple places. He’s been recovering since and recently floated a hit list of possible opponents.
His business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, told Jack Figg of The Sun Sport that former UFC welterweight Darren Till is one of the names they’ve been talking to. Till has stayed unbeaten in boxing, including a knockout of Luke Rockhold, and has picked up two wins in BKFC this year. Bidarian said the date depends on how fast they lock in an opponent and a distribution deal, and that if it drags another three to five weeks, Paul probably doesn’t fight until early next year. He likes Christmas Eve if they can move quickly.
The take
Paul is right about the fight. Jones vs. Ngannou is the best heavyweight matchup nobody ever got to see, and I’ll take any excuse to talk about big men hitting each other. He’s also lobbying a company that has never once asked Jake Paul for career advice on its own contracted fighters, and a public plea from the guy who runs a rival boxing operation probably makes the UFC dig in harder. If Paul wants to promote a heavyweight superfight, the first thing on his desk is still getting a signature from Darren Till before Dec. 24.
