UFC President Dana White will break from his standard refrain on direct matchmaking to make one thing clear: Jon Jones will not get the next shot at the heavyweight title.
Despite a tweet storm from the lightweight heavyweight champion that ended with a prediction of winning heavyweight gold, White plans to stay the course on plans to give Francis Ngannou the next fight with Stipe Miocic.
“Francis is absolutely next,” White told reporters after UFC 252. “You can not jump over Francis.”
The current heavyweight champion defeated former champion of the two divisions, Daniel Cormier, to close out his trilogy on a few wins in the main event of UFC 252. And although White does not like to make matches in the wake of a big fight , Ngannou can rest easily.
“Francis has been there and destroyed everyone, and if you look at how long ago it was that he got that title shot, he worked his way back,” White said. ‘It belongs to Francis Ngannou. But yes, Jon Jones who goes to heavyweight is very interesting. ”
It’s not the first time White has entertained Jones’ idea in the big-man division. At one point, the UFC even worked on pairing him against Miocic. But when Jones tested positive for turinabol after a second victory over Cormier at UFC 214, the promotion radiated him from the title and scrapped the idea.
After winning the light heavyweight title a third time and dominating the competition, Jones appeared more willing than ever to gain weight. He also wanted to pay a bump in, which is where things went south with White. The promoter and Jones had outraged another audience, making accusations on social media and in interviews, until Jones declared he would quote from it.
Jones was sitting at home with a mobile phone in hand, and he was forgetting his recent past, or at least putting it on the backburner in hopes of drumming up of interest that could force White to fund on financial demands. .
For now, White might be ready to come to the negotiating table with Jones. But the first order of business will apparently not be a heavyweight title shot. That goes to Ngannou. After Jones predicted a win over Miocic, ‘The Predator’ approached him.
