Francis Ngannou suggested Thursday that UFC does not want him and Jon Jones to face each other in a cross-promotion fight.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Ngannou said he thinks the fight is "possible" in the interest of giving "the fans what they want," but he also mentioned a clear barrier standing in their way:

"All the parties are down except for one," he said, in apparent reference to UFC.

Ngannou was the UFC heavyweight champion before vacating the title when he and the promotion could not come to terms on a new contract. He subsequently signed with PFL.

Jones, who is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, moved up to heavyweight and beat Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title in his first fight in that weight class.

Last week, Jones and Ngannou had a face-to-face confrontation at a PFL event in Atlanta, sparking speculation about a fight between them once again:

While Jones vs. Ngannou is the heavyweight bout most MMA fans want to see, UFC's stance against cross-promotion fights is a huge obstacle.

Before leaving UFC, the 36-year-old Ngannou was a dominant force, going 17-3 with 12 knockouts in his MMA career.

After losing back-to-back fights to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, the Nigerian star went on an absolute tear, winning each of his final six UFC fights before departing.

In his second-to-last fight, Ngannou won a rematch against Miocic to become UFC heavyweight champion for the first time. He then beat Gane on his way out of the promotion.

There had been speculation about a Ngannou vs. Jones fight before Ngannou left UFC, but when it never came to fruition, Jones moved up to heavyweight anyway and dominated Gane to win the title.

When asked by TMZ how he feels a fight against Jones would go, Ngannou suggested he matches up better with the current bulkier version of Jones than he may have when Jones was lighter and faster at light heavyweight:

"I will say I am more comfortable with a heavy Jon Jones than the Jon Jones of light heavyweight because of course, he gave an impressive performance against Ciryl Gane, but for the first minute, the first interaction and striking, he didn't look good.

"He wasn't on point, as sharp as in light heavyweight, and for me that's the best—I want Jon heavy! I want him heavier if he can put on more size."

Of course, Ngannou's desire to fight a heavier Jones won't matter if they are unable to find a way to step inside the cage against each other.

UFC is typically stringent when it comes to keeping things in house and not involving other MMA promotions, so unless Jones and Ngannou end up in the same company in the future, their bout may simply be a pipe dream.