Francis Ngannou responds to Jake Paul's pleas for the UFC to release Jon Jones

Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones is the heavyweight fight that got away or, at least, one of them, as several dream matchups have failed to materialize under Dana White's leadership. Now, Jake Paul has called on the UFC to release Jones, drawing Ngannou's attention to the matter.

There's no freedom with the UFC, says Francis Ngannou

Undefeated world champion boxer Shakur Stevenson recently requested his release from Zuffa Boxing, and his request was promptly granted, despite Stevenson having never fought under Zuffa Boxing, with whom he had signed back in July. Naturally, this raised eyebrows in the combat sports community, as Zuffa Boxing was co-founded by UFC CEO Dana White, yet the UFC rarely grants its fighters their release upon request. This caused influencer boxer turned combat sports promoter Jake Paul, who has criticized the UFC in the past, to raise the issue with a tweet, challenging them to release UFC legend Jon Jones, who is still under contract despite being retired.

Paul's reasoning is that there should be no reason the UFC can't grant Jones' release like Zuffa Boxing did Stevenson's. He went on to say that it's the only way to book the heavyweight dream fight between Jones and ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, given White's assertion that the UFC will never again do business with Ngannou. So, of course, Ngannou himself shared his thoughts.

"Freedom isn't free; it's not given, but it's taken."

Ngannou had a very public bust-up with the UFC. After successfully defending his heavyweight title in a unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, he was stripped of the belt after he could not agree with the UFC on terms for a new contract. He signed with the PFL on a monster contract that offered him a historic set of concessions, like the freedom to pursue boxing matches and equity in PFL Africa. Unfortunately, Ngannou fought just once for the PFL, knocking out Renan Ferreira in round one at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants to become the inaugural PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion. Afterward, he split from the promotion and wouldn't fight again for two years.

When he did make his MMA return, it was at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano, where he knocked out Philipe Lins in round one. Jones, by contrast, announced his retirement from MMA sometime after TKO'ing Stipe Miocic in round three at UFC 309, where he defended his heavyweight belt. While there was hope for a highly anticipated bout with Tom Aspinall, with 'Bones' stringing fans along for months, he ultimately retired without fighting him, but has shown flashes of interest in returning for the right fight.