Dana White claims Jon Jones would have beaten Francis Ngannou the ‘Exact’ same way as Ciryl Gane at UFC 285
UFC president, Dana White maintains he is still uninterested in a much-anticipated heavyweight showdown between former division champion, Francis Ngannou and recently minted titleholder, Jon Jones – claiming the latter would likely defeat the Cameroon native in “exactly” the same manner he did Ciryl Gane earlier this month.
Headlining UFC 285 earlier this month in his return to the Octagon for the first time in over three years, former two-time light heavyweight champion, Jones added to his trophy cabinet with a stunning guillotine choke win over Gane – stopping the Frenchman inside two minutes.
Long linked with a potential showdown with Batié native, Ngannou – Jones saw the bout fall to the wayside – likely for the foreseeable, when the former departed the UFC back in January, after completing his contractual obligations with the promotion back in December of last year.
Dana White still unmoved by Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou fight in the future
Set to entertain offers to make a potential move to professional boxing, Ngannou’s ability to defeat Jones in a clamoured-for fight has been knocked back by UFC leader, White, who believes the former champion would face a similar fate to Gane at UFC 285.
“I’m not interested,” Dana White said of a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou during an interview with TMZ Sports. “I tried making that fight for two years. He (Francis Ngannou) didn’t want the fight. Do you know what I mean? He didn’t want the fight. He left here (the UFC) without even having another deal in place. And I know how the boxing world is. It’s crazy. But Francis didn’t want to do it.”
“I tried to make that fight for two years,” White continued. “And, let me tell you what, I think a lot of people feel this way – I think that’s exactly the way the fight [with Jones] would’ve gone if [Ngannou] was in there [at UFC 285], too. Him and Ciryl (Gane) had a five round war. If Ciryl doesn’t go for that submission, Cyril probably wins that fight at the end fo the fifth round there.”
Last week, Ngannou revealed that he had verbal talks with former WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder and his team regarding a series of fights in the next 24 months – with at least one of those earmarked matches targeted for a showcase event in Africa.
