Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul are not letting UFC president Dana White off the hook for entirely changing his narrative and flip-flopping over the years.
Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul Mock Dana White
After his first title defense for greener pastures, the UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou walked away from the organization vacating his crown. The Cameroonian star signed with the PFL and took on two blockbuster boxing bouts against the royalty of the sport as he faced Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. It is estimated that Ngannou made over $30-$40 million for these three bouts.
When Francis Ngannou captured the UFC heavyweight throne, Jon Jones was the long-reigning light heavyweight champion but refused to step up to heavyweight. ‘Bones’ waited until Ngannou left the UFC before trying a heavyweight move. Dana White claimed this was because Jones was scared of Ngannou.
As Dana White explained in 2021 after Ngannou captured the heavyweight title by way of knockout, suggesting Jones would be better off cutting to middleweight rather than up to heavyweight. White explained:
“If I’m Jon Jones and I’m at home watching this fight I’m moving to ’85 … If Jon Jones really wants the fight Jon Jones knows he can get the fight … If you really want the fight, Francis Ngannou is the heavyweight champion of the world right now, all he’s gotta do is pick up the phone and call Hunter [Campbell] and we can get the deal done.”
Years later, Dana White says that Francis Ngannou is all about the money and that the UFC offered him one of the biggest deals in UFC history, certainly recognizing his value.
Jake Paul did not let White forget, in a recent Tweet, he said:
“3 years ago he was telling Jon Jones to move down to 185 to avoid [Francis Ngannou] and that Jon didn’t really want to fight Francis…but now the narrative doesn’t suit Dana…”
The lineal MMA world champion Francis Ngannou added:
“Divert attention to the real matter by manipulating the narrative. Lol”