Francis Ngannou claims winner of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane shouldn't be acknowledged as 'undisputed' UFC champion
Francis Ngannou reminded the UFC heavyweight division that he’s still the undisputed champion.
It didn’t take long for the heavyweight division to move on after ‘The Predator’ parted ways with the UFC. In fact, minutes before Dana White made the announcement about Ngannou, he revealed Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane would fight for the vacant title at UFC 285.
The former heavyweight world champion posted a YouTube video discussing his point of view, saying this about the vacant championship fight:
“I want to share my excitement for the heavyweight fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. It’s gonna be a very exciting fight. I’m gonna be watching that fight, but we all know the term undisputed means nothing here. It really means nothing, but I will still be excited watching that fight.”
Ngannou chose not to re-sign with the UFC after months of negotiating. ‘The Predator’ was reportedly offered the most money for any UFC heavyweight ever, but he declined the offer because he wanted more freedom for all fighters. The 36-year-old cleared the air after White gave a somewhat misleading interview at UFC Vegas 67.
Watch Francis Ngannou discuss Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane and more below:
Francis Ngannou doesn’t like how Dana White is hinting at him being scared to fight
During the UFC Vegas 67 press conference, Dana White made several comments that Francis Ngannou and MMA journalist Ariel Helwani disagreed with. The UFC president stated that Ngannou was looking to fight lesser opponents for more money. ‘The Predator’ interpreted this as White saying he was afraid to fight Jon Jones.
The former heavyweight champion responded on his YouTube channel by saying:
“They have also said that I’m scared of Jon Jones or somebody else. I don’t know where they came at with that one. That sounds very ridiculous, in my opinion, with all due respect because I have been calling for this fight for over two years. I’ve been calling for this fight forever.”
There's a chance that White’s words were misunderstood, but Ngannou doesn’t believe so. Nonetheless, the former UFC heavyweight champion is now a free agent. He recently told Helwani that he plans to compete in a professional boxing match next, but nothing is official as offers start piling in.
Dana White reveals that Francis Ngannou has been released from his @UFC contract. https://t.co/fhzMFqPkSZ