Jake Paul went public with the ask every heavyweight fan has been whispering for years: let Jon Jones out of his UFC contract and give us Jones vs. Francis Ngannou.
The Most Valuable Promotions co-founder posted the request on X on Monday, October 19, tagging Jones and Ngannou directly: "Can Jon Jones request a release like Shakur Stevenson so we can go ahead and do this Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones fight? They already said they are never working with Francis. So let Jon fly and we can give the fans what they want. Please and thank you."
The timing is no accident. Hours earlier, undefeated boxing star Shakur Stevenson announced his release from Zuffa Boxing — Dana White's boxing outfit — just three months after signing. Stevenson said he spent weeks preparing for fights that never materialized, got his release granted over the weekend, and is now a free agent launching his own promotional company. Paul saw the precedent and pounced: if Stevenson can walk, why can't Jones?
The layers here run deep. Jones, 38, retired after defending the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November 2024, but the retirement never fully stuck — he publicly asked for his release earlier this year after being left off the UFC's historic White House card, reportedly furious at White. He's still tied to an eight-fight deal he signed before UFC 285 in March 2023, and he's claimed it's "very possible" to get out legally. Paul offered Jones a spot in MVP earlier this year, and Ngannou — a free agent after leaving the PFL — made his MVP debut in May, destroying Philipe Lins on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Netflix card.
Ngannou responded to Paul's post with a line that said everything: "Freedom isn't free; it's not given, but it's taken." From the man who walked away from the UFC in 2023 over a contract dispute, that's not a reply — that's a warning and a roadmap at once.
The obstacles are real. Jones has since said a return to combat sports is unlikely, even with the door cracked open. White has zero incentive to gift his biggest rival's promotion the greatest heavyweight matchup ever. And the Jones–Ngannou ship has sailed past more ports than most fans can count.
But the DAOS take: this is bigger than one fight. Jake Paul keeps doing what the fight game said he couldn't — moving the goalposts of who gets to make matchups. He used Stevenson's release to turn a contract precedent into a public pressure campaign. Ngannou's reply turned it into a referendum on fighter freedom. Jones vs. Ngannou remains the fight that proves who's the baddest man on the planet — two champions, both effectively free agents in spirit, held apart by paperwork. "Please and thank you" has never sounded more like a fight challenge.
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Sources: GiveMeSport · talkSPORT · Athlon Sports · BJ Penn · Bloody Elbow
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