Jake Paul claims Dana White is ‘afraid’ to stage a superfight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou
Jake Paul couldn’t resist taking a swipe at Dana White when discussing the possibility of a duel between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.
Paul was at the Anthem in Washington DC to face Ngannou and Renan Ferreira ahead of their PFL heavyweight title fight on October 19. It will be the first MMA fight for “The Predator” since leaving the UFC.
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Ngannou parted ways with the premier MMA organization as heavyweight champion in 2022 after defending his title against Ciryl Gane earlier in the year.
Jones won the vacant title in March 2023 by also defeating Gane, while “The Predator” signed with the PFL.
MMA fans are clamoring to see a joint UFC/PFL promotion fight between Jones and Ngannou to prove who is the greatest heavyweight in the world.
However, Paul does not expect UFC President White to be willing to make this happen.
“Well, I think Dana (White) is afraid to let it happen. I think he doesn’t want to lose his horse Jon Jones,” Paul said at the PFL “Battle of the Baddest” press conference.
“I love Jon Jones, but this is too big a risk for Dana. Francis is one of the worst, if not the worst, man on the planet.
“I think Dana is scared. I don’t think he wants to do this, but the MMA fans want this.
“Doesn’t everyone want that? But Dana never does anything for the fans.”
White was always against allowing the crossover collision.
However, he now seems more open to the idea of Saudi Arabia and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh have the MMA Bullet.
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During the press conference after the fight for UFC303 In June, White was asked if the Saudis could do anything to persuade him to take part in the spectacular showdown.
He replied: “Well, I actually respect Sheikh Turki, he is a nice guy.
“We have actually built a relationship over the last few months.
“I respect what he has achieved in boxing. He is the only one who can pull it off and take part in these big fights.”
“And the fights are good, there are no guys coming in and avoiding fights to get through to the next payday.
“What this guy has done in such a short period of time is pretty incredible, so we’re obviously talking about a lot of different options with him.
“I respect him. I like him, so we’ll see what the future brings.”
Jones vs. Ngannou is reportedly on HE Alalshikh’s MMA wish list.
It remains to be seen if the man who brought rival boxing promotions around the world together can do the same in MMA.