The rivalry between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou is something that every single MMA fan knows of. While the world was waiting for Jones to return from his three-year-long hiatus and fight Ngannou, ‘The Predator’ found his way out of the UFC. Nevertheless, ‘Bones’ entered the heavyweight realm and claimed the championship belt after defeating Ciryl Gane via submission. Without a doubt, the fighter had earned the respect and admiration of the whole wide world. Even Dana White openly declared to be a fan of Jones. But recently, the UFC CEO has come up with some secrets about the matchup between Jones and Ngannouu. 

The UFC CEO was recently interviewed by the NFL legend, Shannon Sharpe, on his talk show, ‘Club Shay Hay’. And White did not tone down his admiration for the UFC heavyweight champion. Let’s see what he had to say and what revelations he made about Ngannou vs. Jones.

Dana White disses Francis Ngannou as he lays down the facts about Jon Jones

In the recent episode of ‘Club Shay Hay’ podcast, Sharpe questioned White if he regretted or was disappointed with how things took a turn with the Cameroonian fighter. Needless to say, the UFC head honcho did not regret anything. He claimed that the team did everything in their power to make sure Ngannou and Jones faced each other inside the Octagon. But it seemed like fate had different plans for the fighters, as Ngannou vacated his title and announced retirement from UFC. 

But then the former tight end questioned whether Jones was afraid of fighting Ngannou. Without a doubt, White swooped in to defend the champ. He pointed out that the only defeat in Jones’ career was because of a bad referee. Thereafter, he recollected how easily ‘Bones’ defeated ‘Bon Gamin’ in his first-ever heavyweight bout. In case he fought Ngannou, Dana White believed that the result would have been the same. 

“Not only is Jon Jones not afraid of Francis. Jon Jones is the baddest fighter to ever live in any combat sport. If you look at Jon Jones, he’s undefeated in the UFC. He’s got one loss on his record. He lost to Steve Mazzagati. You know who that is? He is the worst referee to ever f***ing ref in any fight. Never lost and he went through murderous row. Then he goes out for three years, comes back, and beats Ciryl Gane. [snaps his fingers] Like that! Easily! And in my opinion, he does the same thing to Francis. A 100%. Does the same thing to Francis,” White said.

The UFC CEO wasn’t done. He revealed that it was the Cameroonian who didn’t want to take up the fight. And the praise for Jones just kept coming. He said, “Francis didn’t wanna fight Jon Jones. There is nothing for him to prove now. He already moved up to heavyweight and walked through- Francis Ngannou barely made it through Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane doesn’t go for that submission, Ciryl Gane wins that fight. Jon Jones walked through him.”

After entering the PFL, Ngannou was bombarded with fan requests to fight Jones and settle the score. Despite White’s claims about him being scared, Ngannou once revealed that he was ready to land against Jones anytime in his career.

‘The Predator’ was ready to fight ‘Bones’

Not too long ago, the 37-year-old Cameroonian martial artist was asked about a potential fight with Jones. It indeed seemed like the former UFC champion was prepared to take on the fight against his rival. He declared that it was always possible from his corner. However, the decisive hand was with Jones and his contract with the UFC. Ngannou claimed that Jones could call him up anytime and he would be ready. However, there were some conditions involved.

In a previous interview with Sharpe on his show, Ngannou affirmed that he has been claiming the fight with Jones, but PFL needed to get involved since he switched to this promotion. Even though he was willing to fight ‘Bones’, Ngannou did not want to return to the UFC. He said, “I’m willing to do that fight, but not to go back to the UFC.”

Do you think it was Ngannou who didn’t want to take up the fight? Will the two ever face each other and fight? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.