Francis Ngannou will never compete in the UFC again.
That’s according to Dana White, who emphatically stated that after contract negotiations failed to bring back Ngannou on a new deal, and the UFC isn’t interested in future talks to see his return. When the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, Ngannou relinquished the UFC heavyweight title and now remains a free agent with the ability to sign with any other promotion in the world.
” We negotiated with him over many years,” White replied when asked whether the UFC would try to sign Ngannou. “It’s over. That’s over. He won’t be back in UFC .”
While he didn’t address the comments directly, Ngannou didn’t seem all that bothered based on his post on social media following White’s interview after the UFC 285 weigh-ins.
https://t.co/ssHgujvM5y pic.twitter.com/FDOBtzZTY5
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) March 4, 2023
With Ngannou gone, the UFC quickly moved forward to book a new heavyweight title fight as Ciryl Gane will now take on Jon Jones on Saturday with the vacant belt on the line.
Gane will get his second opportunity at becoming champion after previously claiming an interim title but then losing to Ngannou by unanimous decision at UFC 270. Since that loss, Gane bounced back with a knockout win over Tai Tuivasa to put him in position to challenge Jones, who will be making his heavyweight debut at UFC 285.
White says Gane was the best choice after Ngannou chose to use free agency.
“When Francis didn’t take the fight with Jon, Ciryl’s the No. 1 guy in the world,” White said. Jon will be fighting the best heavyweight fighter, as that fight was so close between them.
“When you think about Francis, Francis was the underdog in the fight against Jon and Ciryl started out as the favorite. This fight is big for Jon Jones and Ciryl. If Ciryl can beat Jon Jones, it’s a big deal.”
Ngannou opened at the most prominent sportsbooks as the favorite, even though White claimed otherwise. In fact at BetOnline.ag, Ngannou was a heavy favorite at -220 over Jones as the underdog at +180.
In the UFC fight against Gane, Jones was an underdog at DraftKings on Saturday. However, he was otherwise preferred by all other sportsbooks. With just hours remaining until UFC 285 takes place, Jones is a solid favorite across the board.
Jones and Gane will fight for the title, with Ngannou unable to be fought.
Add to that, the winner of the UFC 285 main event will already have a challenger awaiting them after White confirmed that former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will face either Jones or Gane next.
“He’s absolutely the next one,” White said. Stipe will be next .”
whoever wins Saturday’s game.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/4/23625161/dana-white-shuts-down-future-negotiations-with-francis-ngannou-hell-never-be-in-the-ufc-again?rand=96749
