Jon Jones is officially head and shoulders above every other fighter in the GOAT debate. With the light heavyweight and heavyweight UFC titles on his resume, it is safe to say that Jones is arguably the best of all time! However, despite one of the biggest wins of Jon’s career, one name which is being discussed more than him, is Francis Ngannou!
Prior to Jones winning the belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, it was Francis Ngannou who reigned over the heavyweight division. By now, it has become common knowledge why Francis is not in the UFC at present. Dana White emphasized the point that Ngannou did not want to fight Jon Jones. Since the time Dana booked Jones vs Gane for UFC 285, his position on Ngannou has not changed.
However, that was not the case even at the beginning of December 2022. It was apparent that Ngannou was on his way out of the company. But, during an interview with ESPN, Dana added that he was in discussion with “The Predator” to fight in the UFC. At the time, Ngannou was in rehab to recover from the knee injury he suffered ahead of UFC 270.
During one such rehab session in the gym, Ngannou ran into Jon Jones in November 2022. It looked like both Jon and Francis were happy to see each other. Not just that, but Jones had nothing but good things to say about the former champ either! At one point, Jon said that he just had to document the moment and called Francis “King Nagnnou!” It is the only documented occasion when Francis met Jones.
Jon Jones trashed Francis Ngannou after UFC 285
While Jon Jones was complimentary of Francis Ngannou prior to his exit, his tone has changed since then. Jonny Bones initially sent his support to Francis after the latter left the UFC. Jon revealed that he was in full support of Francis for wanting to get paid more. However, in the lead-up to the recently concluded UFC PPV, Jon took a lot of shots at Ngannou.
Jon put the blame on Ngannou for leaving the UFC and not fighting him in the Octagon. He also targeted Francis’ skillsets and discredited him as a legitimate threat. But the biggest attack came after UFC 285. Following the best performance of his MMA career, Jon made some derogatory comments about Ngannou.
Jon added, “Francis is a big old p*ssy… I love that quote, I love it. All that muscle with a big a*s p*ssy.”
As things stand, Francis Ngannou does not seem to be UFC-bound any time soon. However, if Dana White is to be believed, Ngannou will not be welcomed back into the promotion either. On top of that, there is no plan for Jon to accept any other fight except Stipe Miocic. So it seems like Jones vs Ngannou is just one of the super fights that slipped away from the fans.
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