Francis Ngannou touches upon "happy" reaction following Jon Jones' victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285
Francis Ngannou has spoken out about the viral video in which he is seen smiling while watching Jon Jones submit Ciryl Gane.
'Bones' fought Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title at UFC 285 after being away from the ring for three years. The former light-heavyweight champion wasted no time in the Octagon, submitting his opponent within seconds of the very first round. The former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou watched the fight live and seemed happy for Jones.
Watch the reaction below:
Ngannou's reaction to Jones' title win 😅
(via @francis_ngannou) https://t.co/guWzad8D3I
In an interview with ESPN MMA, he explained his reaction:
"Listen, doesn't matter what's going on, doesn't matter, I'm in peace, I'm happy for myself, and I wish all of them the best. I wish all of them to have whatever they deserve because I think the athletes do a lot for the sport and they deserve whatever could be the best out there for them. At the end of the day, both they had the opportunity, they had a great fight."
Francis Ngannou gave a very sobering and diplomatic answer to the question much to the dismay of MMA fans. Jon Jones was initially set to fight either Ngannou or Stipe Miocic in his return to the octagon. However, 'The Predator' vacated his belt and left the UFC because of which the belt was vacant and Jones fought the #1 contender, Gane, for the title since Miocic was injured.
Take a look at the interview (Quotes from 5:22 onwards):
Francis Ngannou talks about the failed Jon Jones fight
Francis Ngannou was the fighter who was most likely to fight Jon Jones in his return to the UFC. 'Bones' made it very clear that he wanted to challenge for the title and 'The Predator', being the champion to accept the fight. However, due to contract and payment disputes between the UFC and Ngannou, the fight never took place. In the same interview, he spoke about what happened:
"That fight never happened you know, all the promise, all the attempt, even the promise for the winner between Stipe and I that supposed to fight Jon Jones, but it never happened. I did everything to have that fight, didn't just have it."
After Ngannou left the UFC and vacated his belt, many fans claimed that the Cameroonian-French fighter was scared of Jon Jones and that is why he left the UFC. However, Ngannou made it very clear that he was not scared of fighting anyone and that the reason he left the organization has nothing to do with Jones.
Good job Jonny Boy 👍
Sincerely,
The heavyweight king