Gameplan exposed Jon Jones was "afraid" in Ciryl Gane fight, says Francis Ngannou
Jon Jones arguably established himself as the MMA G.O.A.T. with his heavyweight title win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.
The former UFC light heavyweight king was absolutely dominant in taking down and submitting Gane within just 124 seconds of his return to the octagon after 3 years. However, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou noticed something interesting in the UFC 285 title fight.
'The Predator' believes Jones was impatient to get the fight to the ground as he was likely "afraid" of Gane becoming more elusive as the fight progressed. Ngannou said on his YouTube channel:
"What I did notice is that Jon was rushing. Jon didn’t want to give him space, because I think he was afraid of something. Maybe he’d get exhausted at some point, not be able to grab him, so he was chasing him from the first minute to grab him. It worked out pretty good, but it tells me something like he wasn’t very confident, he was rushing, which is good for him [smiles].”
Catch Ngannou's comments below:
Will we ever see Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou?
Jon Jones' return to the octagon was long put on hold due to Francis Ngannou's contract negotiations with the UFC. However, the super-fight, originally planned for Jones' return, fell through with Ngannou's exit from the promotion earlier this year.
While 'The Predator' plans to return to MMA after a boxing gig, Dana White recently confirmed that the former champ will never return to the UFC.
Francis Ngannou Announces he will return to MMA 👀 https://t.co/hDxk3KuKFh
Hopes of a clash with Jones were further crushed by 'The Predator' himself in his YouTube video. The 36-year-old said:
“Fun fight, a fight I’d like to have but unfortunately, we are not there. That fight didn’t happen, and probably will never happen now that he’s on a long, very long contract with the UFC. So, that’s not happening anymore.”
Meanwhile, Jon Jones believes Ngannou is to blame for their fight never materializing. The newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion, in the immediate aftermath of his title win, went on to call out Stipe Miocic, who has also hinted at a potential timeline for the clash.