The much-anticipated meeting of Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou finally occurred at PFL 5 in Atlanta on Friday night. Though both fighters maintain that the possibility of them fighting each other soon is slim, the heavyweights still faced off, exchanging a few words. During the stare-down, Jones cautioned Ngannou by saying, “you don’t want no smoke”. Both fighters claimed to be the heavyweight king, which resulted in a handshake. Jones responded with the words, “we’ll see.”

During their conversation, Jones asked Ngannou if he’s been wrestling and hinted that it would take more than a year for him to reach his level of grappling. Ngannou disclosed his pursuit of a fight against Jones in his final two years in the UFC, but Jones was nowhere to be found. Jones, in turn, said, “I had to get enough size to kick your ass.”

While they continued to chat, there was no hostility between them. The fighters eventually parted ways without any physical altercation. Although this meeting was exciting for fans, it may go down as one of the most anticipated fights that never happened. However, anything could still happen in the future. Meanwhile, Ngannou expects to debut in the PFL in 2024, while Jones may have a showdown with former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic later in the year.