Jon Jones is throwing Francis Ngannou under the bus.
For the past several years, MMA fans have salivated over the idea of a potential superfight between Jones and Ngannou, with both men building interest for the matchup. But that fight is unlikely to happen any time soon, since Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in January after he was unable to come to terms with the promotion. Jones will be facing former interim champion Ciryl Ganes for the vacant title of heavyweight at UFC 285,. Jones is blaming Ngannou.
“I don’t think I deserve any criticism,” Jones told RMC Sport. “I’m here. I’m here. Francis was given the chance to meet me, but he declined. Francis Ngannou is the one to be criticised. If I’m correct, he was offered the biggest contract in heavyweight history. I was able to defeat him. He didn’t believe in himself. Francis did not believe in him. He was not willing to take a chance on himself
Jones and Ngannou have been talking about fighting one another since 2020, with Jones even vacating his light heavyweight belt with the intention of moving up to heavyweight. The fight never came to fruition though as Jones took his time moving up, and so instead Ngannou win the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic and then defended it against Gane. Ngannou was forced to undergo surgery after his victory against Gane. He is now out of promotion. But Jones says he he wouldn’t count out the possibility of the matchup still happening somewhere down the line.
” I felt sorry for the fans. I know that would have been a massive fight for the fans,” Jones said. “People from all around the world would have loved to see that event. And I’m not counting it out – I could see Francis going and fighting in boxing and doing whatever he’s going to do. I think he’s always going to be welcome back to the UFC. It’s going to be an epic fight .”
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UFC 285 takes places on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/24/23613754/jon-jones-blames-francis-ngannou-superfight-not-materializing-had-opportunity-to-face-me-opted-out?rand=96749
