UFC president, Dana White has played down the possibility of a future fight between current division champion, Jon Jones, and former division titleholder, Francis Ngannou – stressing how a cross-over fight with the recently signed PFL (Professional Fighters League) star “wouldn’t work”.
Jones, the current heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, is the latest heavyweight to clinch gold following the removal of Ngannou as champion, following is departing from the promotion back in January of this year.
As for Ngannou, the Cameroonian has been sidelined from active competition since he headlined UFC 270 back in January of last year, unifying and defending the heavyweight titles in a unanimous decision win over former interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane.
And despite the fact Ngannou nor Jones ever faced each other in a much-clamoured for fight during their respecteive tenures with the UFC, the two talked up a future fight during a tense showdown and face-off during PFL 5: Regular Season earlier this month.
Dana White shuts down Jon Jones x Francis Ngannou in the future
With a slew of those within the community once more lamenting how a fight between the two has failed to materialize, UFC boss, White has reiterated that a potential fight between Jones and Ngannou would never take place.
“It wouldn’t work,” Dana White said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show of a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. “Francis was here [in the UFC], Jon Jones wanted that fight the whole time. We tried to make the fight with Francis… yeah.”
Winning vacant heavyweight spoils against common-foe, Gane back in March of this year in a triumphant return at UFC 285, Jones has yet to book his first title defense, however, has been linked with a comeback fight at UFC 294 in November – with a matchup against either Stipe Miocic or Sergei Pavlovich targeted for the Madison Square Garden event.