Jake Paul couldn’t help but take a dig at Dana White when discussing the possibility of Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou.
Paul was at the Anthem in Washington DC to face off Ngannou and Renan Ferreira ahead of their PFL heavyweight title fight on October 19 in what will be ‘The Predator’s’ first MMA fight since leaving the UFC.
Ngannou split with MMA’s premier promotion in 2022 as heavyweight champion after defending his title against Ciryl Gane at the start of the year.
Jones picked up the vacant strap in March 2023 by also beating Gane, while ‘The Predator’ signed with PFL.
MMA fans have been clambering to see a UFC/PFL co-promotional fight between Jones and Ngannou to prove who the greatest heavyweight in the world is.
However, Paul doesn’t anticipate that UFC president White would be open to making it happen.
“Well, I think Dana [White] is scared to make it happen. I think he doesn’t want to lose his horse in Jon Jones,” said Paul at the PFL ‘Battle of the Baddest’ press conference.
“I love Jon Jones but that’s too much of a risk for Dana to take. Francis is one of the baddest if not the baddest man on the planet.
“So I think Dana is scared. I don’t think he would want to do that but the MMA fans want that.
“Doesn’t everyone want that? But Dana never does anything for the fans.”
White has always been against making the crossover clash.
However, he seems more open to the idea now that Saudi Arabia and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh have entered the MMA sphere.
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During the post-fight press conference for UFC 303 in June, White was asked whether there was anything the Saudis could do to persuade him to make the blockbuster showdown.
He responded: “Well, I actually respect Sheikh Turki, he’s a nice guy.
“We have actually formed a relationship over the last couple of months.
“I respect what he has done with boxing. This is the only guy that could pull this off and make these big fights.
“And the fights are good, you don’t have guys coming in and avoiding fights so they can get to the next payday.
“What this guy has done in a short amount of time is pretty incredible, so we’re obviously talking about lots of different options with this guy.
“I respect him. I like him, so we will see what the future holds.”
Jones vs Ngannou is reportedly on HE Alalshikh’s MMA wishlist.
It remains to be seen whether the man who has brought rival boxing promotions around the world together, can do the same in MMA.
