Francis Ngannou reacts after Dana White casts doubt that things “would have gone any differently” had he fought Jon Jones at UFC 285

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is clearly amused by how quickly Dana White can change his tune on fighters.

Ngannou (17-3 MMA) parted ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship earlier this year after failing to come to terms on a new deal with the promotion. ‘The Predator’ claimed that he attempted to negotiate health insurance, sponsorships, and other benefits for all fighters on the UFC roster. However, the company wouldn’t comply to his requests.

With that, Dana White and the UFC ultimately handed Francis Ngannou his release papers and proceeded to strip him of the heavyweight title. Shortly thereafter, news broke that Jon Jones (27-1 MMA) and Ciryl Gane (11-2 MMA) would be fighting for the vacant heavyweight strap on March 4th in Las Vegas.

While many fans and pundits believed the Gane would serve as a tough test for ‘Bones’, that did not prove to be the case. Instead, Jones ran right through ‘Bon Gamin’ in last night’s UFC 285 main event, submitting the Frenchman at the 2:04 mark of the opening round (see that here).

(via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Shortly after seemingly solidifying himself as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, Jon Jones received heaps of praise from UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference.

“Even if you look at him [Jones] tonight, he’s had three years to put on the weight. A lot of people were saying I don’t know he looks soft, what if this, that, and blah blah blah. Ciryl Gane is a monster. [He’s] in great physical shape and everything else – Jon Jones went in there and just treated him like he was a little kid. So, I think he is the level. I don’t know if there is any other level higher than Jon Jones.”

In addition to proclaiming Jon Jones as the greatest fighter of all time, Dana White also cast doubt that things would have gone any differently for ‘Bones’ had it been Francis Ngannou standing across the cage from him last night in Las Vegas.

“Done. Never going to happen,” White said when asked if there was any chance of a future Jones vs. Ngannou fight. “We tried to make that fight with him for three years. You’ve gotta want that fight. The guy’s gotta want that fight. Francis doesn’t want the fight; you can’t make him fight. And I doubt it would have gone any differently.”

Those comments seemed to amuse the now former heavyweight kingpin in Ngannou, as ‘The Predator’ responded by sharing a video of some previous comments made by White following his knockout victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260.

https://t.co/bWVzxgciUQ pic.twitter.com/pMuyg6LbF0

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) March 5, 2023

“If I’m Jon Jones and I’m home watching this fight I start moving to 185!” – White said at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference in March of 2021.

Do you agree with Dana White that things probably wouldn’t have gone any differently had it been Ngannou standing across the cage from Jones last night at UFC 285? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!