Francis Ngannou slams Jon Jones for saying he avoided fighting him: “I wanted that fight, but where was Jon Jones at that time?”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou appears unhappy with Jon Jones.

‘The Predator’ famously walked out of the MMA promotion in January, after failing to come to terms on a new deal. At the time, Ngannou stated that low fighter pay, restrictive contracts, and lack of healthcare led to his exit. He later stated his intention to transition to the boxing ring.

In the meantime, the UFC set Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. The two wound up battling it out in the main event of UFC 285 earlier this month. ‘Bones’ wound up dominating, winning the vacant heavyweight gold by first-round submission.

Following the fight, the newly crowned champion, as well as Dana White, took shots at Francis Ngannou. Jones stated that the former heavyweight titleholder did everything he could to avoid fighting him. White, meanwhile, stated Ngannou would never return to the UFC, and that he would’ve lost to ‘Bones’ as easily as Gane did.

Now, Ngannou has responded to those comments in an interview with TMZ. There, he stated that he was the first one to call out Jones, but the fight failed to come to fruition. Ngannou wondered why the new champion, as well as the UFC, isn’t noting that.

(via Zuffa LLC)

“Listen, I wanted that fight as well. Actually, I was the one who initiated that fight,” Francis Ngannou stated during a recent interview with TMZ. “That idea, over two years ago, I wanted that fight. But where was Jon Jones at that time? I don’t know. Nobody seems to be interested, not even Dana White. Nobody seems to be interested, they always find a way to go around it.”

He continued, “It’s not about a fight, it’s not just because they want to give me that fight. It’s the price it’s going to cost me to get that fight. I chased that fight for as long as I could, and listen. In life, I learned you have to let something go. I wanted that fight so bad, but I couldn’t have it at any cost.”

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!