Despite UFC President Dana White claiming that a UFC Heavyweight title bout is unlikely given a standtstill in negotiations, Jon Jones seems to have his eyes set on taking on Francis Ngannou up on exactly that.

33 year old Jones sent out a barrage of tweets on Twitter trying to engage title holder Francis, seemingly asking 'The Predator' for some added motivation.

If anyone needs added motivation for the encounter, it should in fact be Francis having knocked out Stipe Miocic in March to win the coveted title. The bout lasted until just 52 seconds of the second round.

Jon Jones, in fact seemed to be the frontrunner as challenger but apparently wanted $30 million - a figure which proved to be a stumbling block. Now, Jones on his part is reigniting the rumours and tantalising fans with the potential face-off.

To his credit, Jones has performed exceptionally well in the light heavyweight division and seems to be leaving no stone unturned in his pursuit of the UFC Heavyweight title. He claimed that his unwavering will along with prodigious talent make the title win all but inevitable.

Ngannou replied to the tweet stating that if 'Bones' required extra motivation then he had already lost and perhaps should not bother contesting.

The response from Ngannou seemed to have well and truly brought out the competitive streak in Jones - the latter promising to 'break' Ngannou if he failed to knock him out swiftly.

“Pray you knock me out because if you don’t I’m going to break you, and that’s a promise," he said on Twitter.

Dana White has previously indicated that Derrick Lewis is the natural challenger to Ngannou but perhaps he will be reconsidering that call given the growing sense of rivalry between Bones and Ngannou. 

Only time will tell whether the bout between the two will materialise anytime soon but fans of UFC should certainly be on the lookout on developments on this front.