Dana White’s critics aren’t hammering him for missing “a fight.” They’re hammering him for whiffing on the fights — Jon Jones versus Francis Ngannou, Jones versus Tom Aspinall — moments that would have carved out the UFC’s next era. The UFC boss never closed those loops. The Aspinall back-and-forth dragged on for almost 18 months. Insiders will tell you Jones’ reluctance wasn’t about the Brit’s skill but about leverage. Jones knew Aspinall’s title claim had Dana’s backing, and saying “no” was Jones’ way of reminding the UFC he controls his own terms.

The discussions about Jon Jones fighting Francis Ngannou took shape in 2020, and at that time, this fight was at the top of Dana White and Co.’s wishlist. But when ‘The Predator’ departed the UFC in 2023, all hopes were lost until another prominent figure in the combat sports world came in to make the Jones vs Ngannou fight happen. But according to the Cameroonian-French star, the UFC CEO used an excuse to avoid doing business with him.

Francis Ngannou claims Dana White blocked the Jon Jones fight due to ‘c0-promotion’ issues

It’s no secret that there is no love lost between Dana White and Francis Ngannou. He never failed to take shots at the Cameroonian-French star, even after he departed from the promotion. Although there was no way for Jon Jones to fight ‘The Predator’ after the latter’s departure, the sentiment was strong among fans, and even Turki Alalshikh wanted to make this heavyweight clash come to fruition. Ngannou has revealed that Alalshikh tested the waters to bankroll the bout, but White pushed back, citing co-promotion.  Co-promotion determines who controls broadcast rights, sanctioning, and even highlight-reel ownership. White, allowing it once, would open the door for every top drawer to demand the same.

But that’s not it! Even Jon Jones, who didn’t want to have anything to do with Tom Aspinall, expressed his wish to fight Francis Ngannou, claiming it to be one of the biggest legacy fights ever. However, Dana White was not convinced. Despite co-promoting big fights with Conor McGregor in the past, he chose not to do the same with Jones and Ngannou.

“[Plans for him vs Jones] never got off. For sure, the UFC don’t want anything to do… don’t want any co-promotion stuff,” Francis Ngannou stated in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on YouTube. “I think even Turki [Alalshikh] tried to make that fight happen… didn’t work… I don’t know exactly [what UFC said], but I guess [they didn’t want to co-promote].”

In the meantime, Francis Ngannou is not worried that his fight against Jon Jones did not happen. Instead, he shared his plans for what’s next in his fighting career. It appears that MMA could be taking a backseat because he wants another boxing match. Here’s what he had to say.

Ngannou wants Deontay Wilder

Francis Ngannou’s boxing career hasn’t yet paid dividends, but he still maintains his status as a top star and a big draw in all of combat sports. After fighting some of the biggest names in Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, his sights are now on Deontay Wilder. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has long been speculated to fight Ngannou in boxing, and guess what? He’s mentioned being open to this matchup.

As such, Ngannou shared some good news! Although he mentioned that they have yet to have any kind of personal discussions together, ‘The Predator’ claims that there is hope that some kind of announcement will be made in the coming days. “We haven’t engaged personally, but it’s going to be soon. We are still setting some things up, but I keep training. I’m training,” Francis Ngannou added.

Ngannou’s keeping the calendar open for another high-stakes boxing crossover while the PFL provides only limited star power. If the Wilder fight materializes, it further proves that fighters with leverage can step outside the UFC and still headline global events. This precedent matters far beyond Ngannou’s career.

Well, it seems like Francis Ngannou is more concentrated on fighting big names at the moment. Since there’s a lack of it in the PFL, he’s decided to keep an eye out for star boxers. But what do you think about Dana White’s decision to avoid the Ngannou vs Jones fight? Let us know in the comments down below.