The UFC’s heavyweight title picture is a mess. What had seemed to be an obvious series of next steps for the promotion has devolved into a morass of holdouts, interim belts, bickering, and strongarm tactics—as Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones try to negotiate their way toward a ‘superfight’ and the UFC tries to wash their hands of the whole idea.
Which may have left some fans and pundits with the idea that, if the UFC is dead set on getting their way, there might still be a heavyweight fight or two out there for Jon Jones to take—if only to make sure that he kept his name active in the conversation around the title picture at 265 lbs.