Francis Ngannou does not believe a fight with Jon Jones will happen due to his rival's lucrative UFC deal.
UFC superstar Jon Jones became heavyweight champion last weekend after choking out Cyril Gane in his comeback fight to claim Ngannou's recently vacated crown. The Cameroon star no longer is a member of the UFC roster after failing to agree a new deal with the promotion, which saw Jones handed a run at the title in just his first outing.
Now Jones has become the champion with a dominant display, many are calling for the return of Ngannou to try and reclaim his crown despite his plans to enter the boxing ring. And while delivering his verdict on Jones' latest performance, the ex-champion appeared to place blame on the division's new king for a showdown never materialising.
Ngannou said on his YouTube channel: "I knew that if Jon shows up in a good space mentally - not like his last two fights - he's going to prevail in this fight, but I didn't see this fight being so short. That was quite a great performance from Jon. Not very surprising because I knew that if I could out-wrestle Ciryl, Jon would be another story.
"He would have a hard night if Jon could lay hands on him. The fight that I would have liked to have, but unfortunately we are not there. That fight didn't happen and probably will never happen now that he's on a very long contract with the UFC so that's not happening anymore."
Jones has now solidified his place as the UFC's best-ever fighter given his record now stretches into a second weight class. It remains to be seen if anyone will be able to dethrone 'Bones' now he has become the king, but it is expected he will next be challenged by Stipe Miocic.
Who would win if the pair did meet - Jon Jones or Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below
Meanwhile Ngannou is currently negotiating with a number of new labels after departing the UFC, which could include an appearance in rival promotion PFL. However the Cameroon star has also received interest from Bellator, and the promotion's chief Scott Coker believes he would also be able to box as part of the deal.
He told talkSPORT: “We are in touch with Francis. I think he’s exploring all the options at this point, as he should. “Our pitch to him is: ‘Look, we have the same parent company as Showtime pay-per-view boxing. So, if you want to come here and have a home in MMA and you’d also have a home in Showtime pay-per-view boxing.
"It will be like a one-stop shop and you don’t have to juggle around different leagues.’ I think that’s one of the strong suits about this company, that we could make a deal for Showtime Boxing as well as the mixed martial arts part. So, that conversation is ongoing.”
