MVP MMA promoter Nakisa Bidarian handicapped the chances of getting the opportunity to land UFC superstar Jon Jones.
One of the greatest fighters in MMA history, Jones was on hand at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano as a guest analyst. After Francis Ngannou brutally knocked out Philipe Lins in the first round of their heavyweight bout, he expressed interest in fighting Jones in MVP MMA. Jones, who retired from the UFC last year, also said he was interested in the bout. But he admitted he is still under UFC contract and said he will have difficulty getting out of it to fight Ngannou on Netflix.
Nakisa Bidarian Comments on Chances of Promoting Jon Jones
Speaking to reporters at the post-fight press conference, Bidarian was asked what he truly thinks his chances of promoting Jones on MVP MMA are. According to Bidarian, he thinks they are slim, as he simply doesn’t see UFC president Dana White allowing Jones out of his contract with the UFC.
“I don’t think it’s realistic because I don’t think Dana is going to allow that in any way, shape, or form because they know it will be the biggest fight that can happen at the heavyweight division in a long time. I wish it could happen, and I think Jon deserves that moment. I think the sport deserves that moment,” Bidarian said (via MMAjunkie.com).
As Bidarian insinuated, a fight between Jones and Ngannou would be the biggest heavyweight fight that could happen in mixed martial arts right now. But Jones still has six fights left on the UFC contract that he signed in 2023, and White has no incentive to let him leave the contract early to fight Ngannou on Netflix, especially since MVP MMA appears to be a direct competitor with the UFC right now.
MVP Promoter Says Fans Deserve Jones vs. Ngannou
In Bidarian’s opinion, the fans are the losers if the UFC doesn’t allow Jones vs. Ngannou to happen in MVP MMA, since this is the biggest heavyweight MMA fight possible.
“If you look at the boxing landscape, co-promotion happens all the time. If you look at MMA outside the UFC, co-promotion happens all the time. If you look at the NBA, they go to Europe and play other teams. They go to Asia, and they play against Asian teams. They go to Australia, and they play against Australian teams. It happens all the time. The biggest moment the UFC has had in history was a co-promotion. It was with Mayweather and McGregor. It was the biggest associated event Dana has touched in terms of revenue,” Bidarian said.
“So hopefully there is a door, hopefully that can happen. We’re more than willing. There are no hurt feelings. There’s no, ‘Hey, we can’t work with them because they take shots at us.’ Exactly the opposite: Let’s do it and make it a moment the world stops and enjoys these two men who are at the crescendo of their careers, probably given their careers and wear and tear, especially with Jon. The fans deserve it. The sport deserves it, and we’d love to do it.”
MVP MMA Promoter Handicaps Chances of Landing Jon Jones