The ongoing tension between Francis Ngannou and UFC CEO Dana White continues to unfold.
After vacating his heavyweight title to explore free agency, Ngannou secured highly lucrative boxing matchups against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua following his UFC departure in 2023.
In his return to MMA, the former UFC heavyweight champion made a statement with a dominant finish over Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants. However, White suggested after the fight that financial incentives primarily influenced Ngannou’s career decisions.
“The Predator” believes White struggles to accept how things played out and even questions whether the UFC boss wants to see him fail outside the promotion. Regardless, Ngannou remains focused on his own path forward.
One fight he still hopes for — but doesn’t believe will happen — is a long-awaited clash with Jon Jones. According to Ngannou, White remains the biggest obstacle in making that fight a reality.
“If you can get past Dana White, it could happen, [but] that’s a massive obstacle,” Ngannou told Sportsbook Review. “But personally, I don’t care. I’m doing well. I’m doing my stuff at my pace. I don’t care. That won’t change my sleep for me.
“Finishing my career without fighting Jon Jones would be OK. I have tried to fight Jon Jones for four years since I fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik [at UFC 249] back in 2020. I’ve been trying to fight Jon Jones, and then they were holding it out like a trap until the moment that I was about to leave. Then they said, ‘OK, here’s the Jon Jones fight.’ But it was bait. I felt they were very tricky.”
While Ngannou acknowledges that a fight with Jones would be an incredible spectacle, he has gradually let go of the expectation.
“Yes, Jon Jones would be a great fight, a fantastic fight,” Ngannou said. “I have always hoped for that fight, but my hope and my expectation for that fight has faded over time.
“I have a lot of fights to get a measurement of his light heavyweight career, and I have way less to look at with him as a heavyweight. I think he’s by far the best light heavyweight. His cage time as a light heavyweight was over a decade. At heavyweight, he has two fights. He has barely done three rounds.”
