Dana White has confirmed that Jon Jones will not be fighting Francis Ngannou despite the pair’s social media back-and-forth.
The UFC boss was not aware of the ongoing discussions between Jones and Ngannou that had broken out on X this weekend. But speaking with Bloody Elbow at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, he confirmed that Tom Aspinall, not Ngannou, is next for the legendary two-weight champion.
White also confirmed that Jones has accepted the fight with Aspinall behind closed doors. In fact, he appeared to be baffled by the idea that another fight could be on the radar or that Jones would be discussing anything else.
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Dana White shuts down Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou fight talks
Dana White had been quiet amid the tweet storm that was brewing in recent days, which included a ‘winner take all’ offer from PFL. However, he quickly shut down the idea while speaking with Bloody Elbow and other media after UFC 316.
“It’s Aspinall’s fight,” he replied when asked if there was anything either Francis Ngannou or PFL could do to make the Jon Jones fight happen. “I mean, we’ve been talking to this kid about it forever and it’s his fight.
“Listen, you can’t make people fight, if Jon doesn’t want to fight, you can’t make him fight. We can try to make him fight, we can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight, but we’ll figure it out… I don’t have Ngannou under contract and Aspinall is the guy!”
Asked by a member of the media if he had any interest in trying to get Ngannou back under contract, he shook his head and replied: “Eh, probably not.”
Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones shared social media back-and-forth
The whole thing started in recent days when Jones appeared to name Ngannou as his preferred opponent for his next title defence. He branded it a ‘super-fight’, and claimed it was a much more interesting bout than with Aspinall.
“I’m hearing Francis Ngannou is still interested… now we’re talking,” Jones wrote. “That’s a real super fight. A clash of champions, not just hype.
“He held the UFC belt, I’ve defended mine for over a decade. Two kings from different roads. Not just one legend facing a mouth that’s hot right now, but two real legacies colliding. That’s the kind of fight that actually adds something special to my story. At least from my point of view.”
Ngannou then hit back at Jones, telling him in a shorter tweet: “You take care of the UFC, I’ll take care of the PFL, and we’ll finally find out who’s the KING OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT.”