Jake Paul: Dana White Fears Making Jones Vs. Ngannou
Jake Paul says that Dana White fears making Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou.
White ruled out the fight after Ngannou left the UFC last year following the breakdown of contract talks. Ngannou allegedly rejected an $8 million deal, which would have allowed the Jones fight. Once Ngannou left, White ruled out working with Ngannou. He also rejected the idea of doing a co-promotion with the PFL, stating that it made no sense to do so given the UFC was much bigger. Ngannou makes his PFL debut on October 19 against Renan Ferreira. A win makes Ngannou the best heavyweight in the PFL since Renan is the current PFL Heavyweight Champion. That will increase the expectations of making the Jones-Ngannou fight.
Paul On White
“Well I think Dana’s scared to make it happen. I think he doesn’t want to lose his horse in Jon Jones. I love Jon Jones, but that’s too much of a risk for Dana to take. Francis is one of the baddest, if not the baddest man on the planet. So I think Dana’s scared. I don’t think he would want to do that. But the MMA fans want that. Doesn’t everyone want that? But Dana never does anything for the fans,” Paul said
White has shown a reluctance to make crossover fights. Paul has called out Conor McGregor and Alex Perreira in the past. Paul reportedly offered McGregor $50 million to make a boxing fight. White previously allowed McGregor to box Floyd Mayweather in 2017 as the Irishman made $100 million. Provided that there is enough money, White has shown a desire to make those fights.
After facing Mike Perry, Paul called out Alex Perreira for a boxing fight. The Problem Child stopped Perry in round six before FaceTiming the Brazilian in the ring. Pereira did not appear to rule it out. However, White came out to state that the fight would never happen. Since Jones and Pereira are White’s two biggest assets, making those bouts would be a bold move.
Will It Happen?
The CEO of the UFC blamed Ngannou for the Jones fight not happening. Ngannou rejected that claim, stating that it was the opposite. In 2020, White infamously questioned Jones’ desire to make the fight. There were suggestions that Bones wanted to move to middleweight while also demanding huge sums to make the fight. Now that Ngannou is no longer with the UFC, The Predator sees it as simply a change of narrative.
“It’s a long story. That dude (Hunter Campbell) did everything in his power to make Jon Jones vs. Francis. The fight did not happen, and let me tell you, it wasn’t because of Jon Jones. I didn’t want that like a trap to get into some deal and get to something that I didn’t want, you know. I wanted things to be straight and squared. Yes, I wanted to fight Jon Jones, but in good conditions,” Ngannou stated
While the fight has not happened, the rise of the Saudis means it could happen if there is enough demand to make it.
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