Dana White Blames Ngannou For Jon Jones Fight Collapse – ‘These Are Facts’
Dana White blamed Francis Ngannou for the Jon Jones fight not going ahead.
Ngannou’s UFC departure last year ended hopes of the fight happening. The Predator reportedly turned down an $8 million offer, as White refused to work with him. Ngannou then signed up with the PFL. Since then, he has had two boxing fights, losing to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. However, he will make his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira on October 19. The PFL remains open to fighting Jones, provided an agreement can be reached with the UFC.
White Reacts
White has refused to do a co-promotion, but the presence of the Saudis could change that if a big offer is put on the table. There is a narrative that Jones does not want to fight. He is facing similar problems when it comes to the Tom Aspinall fight. Jones has hinted that he could retire after facing Stipe Miocic. Since Aspinall is the interim champion, fans may miss out on this fight. White has consistently said that Jones is the best P4P fighter in the world, shutting down criticism that Bones is scared to fight the best.
“I have zero animosity towards Francis. Francis was out of my world a long time ago. [Sean Shelby] and Mick [Maynard] are another story. It’s a long story. [Shelby] did everything he could in his power to make Jon Jones vs. Francis. The fight did not happen and let me tell you what, it wasn’t because of Jon Jones.
“So Jon is a very unique individual to deal with. Jon Jones will fight everybody. Jon Jones was absolutely — he wanted Francis! You saw what happened with Ciryl Gane. He will tell you like he told us that he would do the same thing to Francis Ngannou. He wanted that fight so bad.
“And for anybody who thinks — I know the whole internet, ‘Oh Jon Jones!’ that I’m up Jon Jones’s ass, these are….facts. Facts. And since everybody has been such douchebags about this, I’m coming out with a nice little punch in the face for all you…that think Jon Jones isn’t the greatest of all-time,” White said
Jones Vs. Aspinall
Despite this, Jones has only had one UFC fight in around four years. He submitted Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year to win the vacant title. The performance was impressive, but Aspinall has been more active of late. He stopped Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes at UFC 295 and UFC 304, respectively. Meanwhile, Jones has shown a massive reluctance to face Tom. He even suggested that an Alex Pereira fight is bigger than Aspinall. This is despite the Brazilian fighting at light heavyweight. Once again, White continued to back him man.
“Dislike him, whatever your beef is with Jon Jones, knock yourself out. There’s no way in hell that Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall. That I guarantee you. Jon Jones is doing Jon Jones right now. That’s what he does. There is nobody that we’ve ever dealt with, when I tell you is not afraid to fight anybody. It’s Jon Jones… I believe Jon Jones-Aspinall happens if he beats Stipe,” White stated
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