Last week, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul threw down the gauntlet at UFC CEO Dana White, challenging him for not facilitating a fight between heavyweight legends Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. At a PFL event, Paul said, “I think Dana’s scared to lose his horse in Jon Jones.” sparking controversy about how Dana White has allegedly denied fans the chance to witness one of the greatest fights in history because of his mindset and ego. Recently, Jake Paul’s sentiments were echoed by a UFC Hall of Famer in an interview with a renowned MMA media outlet.

Former UFC fighter Randy Couture didn’t hesitate to anticipate a potential cross-promotion fight between PFL and UFC. He said while speaking on the MMAFightingonSBN, “With full transparency, maybe we can create those champions versus champion fights,” but also predicted a hindrance, “I know the UFC’s got too big of an ego to let that happen. That’s why the Fedor fight never happened, because M-1 wanted to do a co-promotion, and the UFC is never going to let that happen.”

UFC head honcho has been a target of criticism from the MMA community, whether from fans or media, largely because of his favoritism towards ‘Bones’. The favoritism has led him to dodge current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s request for a unification title fight.

For the past six months, White has consistently refused to listen to Aspinall’s request for a unification title fight over the past six months. Randy Couture attempted to show White the mirror on the same, stating, “Aspinall and Jon Jones would be an amazing fight. They need to put it on the line, settle that, unify those titles, and make it happen.”

Even though fans and UFC legends have occasionally called for a cross-promotion fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, Dana White confirmed last year that he has abandoned the idea altogether, closing the door on the possibility of this match-up happening.

Dana White on Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou

The heavyweight clash between two MMA legends has been the centerpiece for fans who have dreamed about this battle of the Titans for years. However, their dream was shattered when Ngannou left the promotion last year due to contractual issues with the UFC and subsequently signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Since then, this dream has been on hold. Although some hoped that new funding from Turki Alalshikh might make it happen, Dana White dashed all those hopes with his statement during a UFC post-fight press conference.

White said, “No, I’m not interested in that. We tried to make that fight, they didn’t want to do it, and it’s done… I’m not interested. We’ve got one, two, and three [top-selling pay-per-views in the MSG], they [The PFL] can’t sell a f***g gate… It’s a stupid question. Why should I do that? I tried to make the fight here; they didn’t want to do it, but I should co-promote?”

What are your thoughts on Randy Couture’s statement? Do you think his words will reach UFC head honcho Dana White, and will he ever be ready for a cross-promotion fight, a step that would make history in the world of MMA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.