Dana White has completely dismissed Francis Ngannou’s recent remarks regarding his preferred next opponent.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, new UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou was asked who he would like to fight next. His answer of “Jon Jones” was expected, as that has been his response whenever asked a variation of that same question in recent weeks.
However, what was particularly noteworthy about the ambush interview was when Ngannou stated he does not care about the talks of him fighting Derrick Lewis next. In essence, Ngannou was strongly implying that he didn’t just prefer a fight against Jones but that it was Jon Jones or bust in terms of his first title defense.
Following last weekend’s UFC 263, UFC President Dana White was informed about Ngannou’s comments and asked for his take on it. White responded in a fashion that hardly seemed to even acknowledge Ngannou’s remarks.
“Derrick Lewis is getting that fight,” White said matter-of-factly at the UFC 263 post-fight press conference. “It’s Derrick Lewis’ fight. And Jon Jones, hopefully by then, will be ready for the winner.”
Much like Ngannou’s remarks, there is a detectable ring of familiarity to White’s comments, but also as with Ngannou, there was one subtle detail added between the lines.
Recently, White stated that Stipe Miocic was likely next for the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis 2. In the above response to Ngannou, White is now saying that Jones, not Miocic, would get the next title shot if Jones wanted the fight. So maybe the UFC boss is being responsive to his champion’s wishes after all by offering Jones for his second title defense as a compromise.
The most recent update on Jones’s status is that he looking at making his heavyweight debut in 2022, that is of course provided he is able to come to terms with the UFC on a new deal.
