Francis Ngannou laughs off Dana White’s comment that he’s scared to fight Jon Jones: “He didn’t want to fight me!”
PFL heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou has responded to Dana White’s comments about fighting Jon Jones.
‘The Predator’ is finally set to return to the cage in October. Francis Ngannou last appeared in the octagon at UFC 270 in January 2022, where he handed Ciryl Gane a unanimous decision defeat. The fight was the last on his contract with the promotion, and he left the following year. Due to his exit, fans missed out on a long-awaited bout against Jon Jones.
In his absence, ‘Bones’ won the vacant heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane last March. In the year and a half since that UFC title win, Jon Jones, and Dana White have had a lot to say about Francis Ngannou. The promoter has repeatedly stated that the PFL heavyweight was scared to face the former light-heavyweight.
In Dana White’s view, Francis Ngannou is the only reason why the bout with Jon Jones didn’t come to fruition. However, ‘The Predator’ has to provide a little bit of pushback on that idea. Earlier today, Ngannou was asked about White and Jones at a PFL press conference to promote his return against Renan Ferreira.
Francis Ngannou is asked about Dana White’s comments that he didn’t want to fight Jon Jones. pic.twitter.com/862nGBmp3P
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 22, 2024
Francis Ngannou slams UFC’s Dana White and Jon Jones over talk of 2023 fight
At the press conference, Francis Ngannou largely slammed Dana White. The former UFC champion stated that while the promoter is now saying he’s scared of Jones, that’s not what he heard at the time. Years ago, Ngannou heard from White and company that it was ‘Bones’ who wouldn’t fight him.
“Well, I think that’s the new narrative.” Francis Ngannou responded, when asked about Dana White’s comment that he’s scared to fight ‘Bones’. “Since he needs to say something either way. But, as far as I’m concerned, it was Jon Jones who didn’t want to fight me. That’s according to them. So many times that we sat down in a meeting and they said ‘Sorry, Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight anymore’.”
He continued, “You know, the guy who controls the narrative can say whatever he wants. But, that was the narrative. I was the one requesting the Jon Jones fight.”
What do you make of these comments from the PFL heavyweight? Who do you think would’ve won if Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones happened?
