Jon Jones is not going to fight Francis Ngannou anytime soon according to UFC President Dana White.
Ever since Ngannou knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds at UFC 249, Jones has been on social media expressing his interest in a superfight with ‘The Predator’.
Although the proposed bout spawned a ton of fan interest, Ngannou said to BJPENN.com he wasn’t sure the fight would happen.
Still, Jones and the promotion began negotiations, but those quickly fell apart. Now, Dana White has revealed to ESPN why the superfight isn’t happening anytime soon.
“Listen, it’s one thing if you come out and say yeah listen I want a little more money. The amount of money that Jon Jones wanted [is a lot]. First of all, in the light heavyweight division, the Dominick Reyes fight is a fight that makes sense,” White explained. “So, is Jon Jones going to fight Francis Ngannou then try and take a run at the heavyweight title? I don’t believe that. He’s never wanted to move to heavyweight before. For the amount of money he is asking for, it’s not going to happen. You couldn’t be asking for a more absurd amount of money at a worse time.”
If the UFC and Jon Jones can’t reach an agreement on what he would be paid to fight Francis Ngannou, ‘Bones’ would opt you stay at light heavyweight. If he does, White says he will either fight Jan Blachowicz or rematch Reyes next.
“He’s got guys lined up at light heavyweight, whether it’s Jan Blachowicz or Dominick Reyes,” he said.
For now, it seems unlikely we will get to see Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou anytime soon unless something drastic happens. So, what will be next for the heavyweight contender is a major question that needs to be answered.
What do you make of Dana White’s reason as to why Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou isn’t happening?