What’s a single matchup in the UFC that could have shaken the foundation of the promotion? Well, it’s the fight between Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones. This match could have propelled the UFC rankings through the roofs, but destiny had some other plans as Ngannou left the promotion, citing reasons such as a stringent contract. There were talks about their fight back in 2023, but as Ngannou left the promotion, Jon Jones stepped up as he defeated Ciryl Gane to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. Well, both the fighters had initial problems with their matchup, but according to Dana White, the problem was only on the part of ‘The Predator’

In a recent press conference at the Dana White contender series, the UFC head honcho came forward to state that the entire fault was at Francis Ngannou’s side and Jon Jones never really had any problem fighting ‘The Predator’. However, this statement of the UFC boss has been called out by one of his fighters. Who is it and what did he say? Let us find out.

UFC veteran exposes Dana White’s propaganda against Francis Ngannou

The social media buzzed with videos of Dana White claiming that the primary reason Jon Jones never fought Francis Ngannou was because of him. Before this revelation, the general populace believed that both the fighters were kind of reluctant to fight each other and when everything was set, Ngannou left the promotion without any thought. However, it appears that this is not the reality as per the UFC Supremo.

In his conversation with the media, White ascertained, “The fight against [Francis Ngannou] did not happen and let me tell you what, it was not because of Jon Jones. He wanted Francis. You saw what happened with Ciryl Gane. He will tell you like he told us, that he would do the same thing to Francis Ngannou. He wanted that fight so bad. You can’t make people fight and we can’t make Francis fight.”

Is this statement by the UFC boss true? Well, according to UFC veteran Derek Brunson, it might be debatable. The former UFC fighter took to MMA Fighting’s Instagram post to add a comment exposing Dana White, “I swear I thought Dana said Jon didn’t want to fight Francis when he was in the UFC. Am I tripping,” wrote Brunson.

With his statement, Dana White made sure to grab a lot of attention from the MMA world against him. Jon Jones is currently on a hiatus and is expected to return to the Octagon to fight against Stipe Miocic in November. Regardless, White made his statement, but what’s Ngannou’s take in the back-and-forth? Let us find out.

‘The Predator’ claims that he never ducked Jon Jones

Figh͏ting Jon ͏͏͏Jon͏es͏͏͏ is no ͏e͏͏asy ͏task, bu͏͏t͏ f͏͏or ͏F͏͏ra͏nci͏s͏ Nganno͏u i͏t͏ was a dream ͏͏to figh͏t͏ to de͏f͏͏e͏at ͏͏Jon͏es ͏͏in his own domain. ͏U͏n͏like Dana ͏W͏͏hite, wh͏o ͏bla͏me͏͏d͏͏ Ngannou͏ f͏or ͏͏the fight n͏ot ͏happening, ‘The ͏P͏red͏͏a͏͏͏tor’͏ cl͏͏a͏i͏med tha͏t͏ ͏bot͏h he an͏d Jones want͏ed to͏ fig͏h͏t each͏ o͏th͏er,͏͏ but͏ the promo͏tio͏͏n ͏never ͏re͏al͏ly ͏boo͏ked their͏ clash.͏͏

“First of all, when I was around, Jon Jones wasn’t around. Even three years before, we were negotiating. I was asking for this fight after I fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik. I was pushing so hard for Jon Jones because I knew the UFC was going to make [Daniel Cormier] and Stipe [Miocic] 3, the trilogy of Stipe and DC. So I wanted the Jon Jones fight and they never brought that conversation up. They would use it to paint out the narrative for both sides, ” said Ngannou in a conversation with The Last Stand podcast last year.

Well, the truth might not be known to us, but what’s your take on the entire fiasco? Do you believe a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou could materialize in the future? State your thoughts in the comments below.