WATCH: Francis Ngannou reacts with genuine emotion as Jon Jones lifts the heavyweight title
Jon Jones' move up to the heavyweight division and his title matchup against No.1 contender Ciryl Gane was not met well by Francis Ngannou. The former heavyweight champion continually asserted that he was the undisputed king despite his exit from the UFC.
Jon Jones was successful in his challenge for heavyweight gold, winning in style by beating his French opponent in the very first round. A wary opening was followed by a swift takedown and a guillotine choke that led to Gane submitting early on.
A video uploaded by Ngannou on YouTube documents his unfiltered reaction to watching the UFC 285 main event unfold.
'The Predator' can be seen in good spirits and even joins his friends in screaming as they react to the surprisingly quick end to the fight. Francis Ngannou can then be seen laughing, with the surprise clear on his face.
Check out a snippet from the full video uploaded to Twitter by Chamatkar Sandhu:
Francis Ngannou reacts to Jon Jones winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship 😀
(via @francis_ngannou's YouTube Channel) https://t.co/qRfp0IYotm
Although Ngannou's congratulatory tweet did not convey it, his live reaction certainly portrayed no malice towards the new champ. 'The Predator' took to Twitter to congratulate Jon Jones on the win, but styled himself as 'the heavyweight king' on the basis that he didn't lose the title inside the octagon.
"Good job Jonny Boy [thumbs up emoji] Sincerely, The heavyweight king"
Good job Jonny Boy 👍
Sincerely,
The heavyweight king
Francis Ngannou gives detailed thoughts on Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane
Towards the end of the video, Francis Ngannou gave a more elaborate and honest review on the UFC 285 main event.
Ngannou mentioned that Jon Jones' mental fortitude made a huge difference. He also spoke of his surprise at how short-lived Ciryl Gane's resistance was:
“Well, I knew that if Jon shows up, in a good space mentally, you know, like his last two fights, he’s gonna prevail in this fight. But I didn’t see this fight be so short. You know, I think this fight could have been longer, you know? I was surprised, though, I was surprised the way that the fight ended. And I think seeing even Ciryl’s reaction, he was surprised as well because he wasn’t even defending. He wasn’t thinking that a submission can come from where he was at."
Ngannou took a further dig at Gane's wrestling by comparing it to their own matchup at UFC 270.
"That was quite a great performance from Jones, not very surprising because I knew that if I could outwrestle Ciryl, Jon would be another story.”
Check out Francis Ngannou's full comments on his YouTube channel: