Dana White Dismisses An Idea For A Jones Vs. Ngannou Co-Promotion, Promises The ‘Greatest’ UFC Show At The Las Vegas Sphere

Dana White shut down the chances of a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight.

Following the latter’s impressive boxing debut against Tyson Fury where the former UFC heavyweight champion lasted the distance, the attention turned towards Ngannou’s next move. The fighter’s current PFL deal indicates that his MMA debut will occur in 2024. However, with the MMA options being limited, Ngannou vs. Jones has been talked about once again. And yet, following Ngannou’s departure from the UFC, White dismissed the idea of working with him again after contract talks broke down. With that being said, White was against a cross-promotion fight with the PFL.

“I’m not interested in that. 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. Should I [co-promote with PFL]? 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,” White stated

As a result, White’s focus is on putting together the biggest UFC events out there. And following the success of this year’s UFC Noche event between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso, White plans on having another event on Mexican Independence Day but this time at The Sphere, Las Vegas. The fight was a classic as the flyweight title bout ended in a split draw following Mike Bell’s controversial 10-8 scorecard to Grasso in the final round. After the fight, the calls for a rematch increased. Meanwhile, the fight became the highest-viewed UFC bout in ESPN history. And with that success, White aims to do more on the biggest stage.

“Mexican Independence Day, we are booked for The Sphere. We are already working on the creative for the show. It’s a massive challenge, and I love every minute of it. I can’t wait to dive into this thing. As I get more of the pieces of the puzzle put together, I’ll let you guys know as it comes along. I’m super excited about this. I love challenges.

“Everybody keeps saying to me, ‘I don’t understand how you’re going to put the octagon in there, I don’t understand how you’re going to do this, I don’t understand how you’re going to do that. Remember that I said this to you tonight — I’m going to put on the greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen,” White said 

Reaction

UFC will never co-promote. They have to much to lose.

— MmaFanBoiiLol (@MmaFanBoiiLol) November 12, 2023

UFC will never co-promote. They have nothing to gain.

— Steve Jaubstin (@SteveJaubstin) November 12, 2023

It’s all downside because Ngannou KOs Jones.

— MMAGrinders (@MMAGrinders) November 12, 2023