Dana White slams co-promotion question for Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou: 'Why would I do that?'

12/11/2023 15:00

If Francis Ngannou wanted to fight Jon Jones, he should have done it in the UFC.

That was essentially the message delivered by UFC CEO Dana White when asked about potentially co-promoting with the PFL to book the heavyweight tilt between Ngannou and Jones.

PFL executives pushed for that possibility after Ngannou fought Tyson Fury to a razor-close split decision loss in his professional boxing debut, which only raised his visibility as a draw for the organization.

Unfortunately, Ngannou's options for viable opposition that are currently signed to the PFL remains slim, and White doesn't see any reason why he would even entertain that idea.

"I'm not interested in that," White responded about Jones vs. Ngannou at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference. "We tried to make that fight. They didn't want to do it. It's done. He doesn't fight here anymore. I'm not interested."

There's nothing logistically stopping the UFC from co-promoting with anybody, but the organization continues to earn record revenues on its own quarter after quarter, year over year. The UFC just recently inked a $100 million deal making Bud Light the official beer of the promotion in 2024, not to mention a lucrative broadcast rights negotiation that will start next year.

In other words, the UFC doesn't need to work with anybody else to turn a profit and that includes a one-off fight booked in a co-promotion with a rival MMA organization.

"Should I [co-promote with PFL]?" White said. "We've got one, two and three [largest gates in Madison Square Garden history], they can't sell a f****** gate. It's a stupid question. Why would I do that?

"I tried to make the fight here. They didn't want to do it but I should co-promote with a Bellator or a PFL? Why should I do that? You win the dumb question of the night, congratulations sir."

Jones, who was originally scheduled to compete on Saturday before suffering a torn pectoral muscle, is expected to face former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic when he's ready to return.

White doubled down on that matchmaking even after Tom Aspinall claimed the interim heavyweight title with his win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

As for Ngannou, he's been exploring potential boxing matches including his desire to face Fury again in a rematch. His options are far more limited in MMA and it's safe to say Jones' name is officially crossed off the list of realistic opponents for his next fight.