05 March 2023 , 09:52
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Francis Ngannou responded to Jon Jones' UFC title win by declaring himself "the heavyweight king".
Jones, 35, hadn't fought in over three years but made a flawless return to the octagon at UFC 285 in Las Vegas to choke out Gane just over two minutes into their vacant title fight. 'Bones' is now one of the few two-weight champions in UFC history and the consensus greatest fighter of all-time already has his next challenger lined up, as he will face former champion Miocic later this year.
Ngannou never officially lost the heavyweight title as he left the promotion in January after failing to agree to a new contract. 'The Predator' reacted to Jones' win by tweeting: "Good job Jonny Boy. Sincerely, the heavyweight king." Jones was asked about Ngannou's comment at his post-fight press conference and gave a X-rated response.
"Francis is a big old p***y," Jones said. "love that quote. I love it, all that muscle, with a big a** p***y. Excuse me, I'm so sorry." A fight between Jones and Ngannou was being discussed for years, with UFC boss Dana White once claiming Jones wanted $30million for the clash. Ngannou revealed that he turned down a $8million offer to remain with the UFC and fight Jones as he wasn't happy with other terms of his deal.
Jones is relishing the chance to make the first defence of his belt against Miocic, who was cageside to watch Jones make quick work of Gane. The new champion sent a warning to Miocic in his post-fight interview by advising the former champion to ditch his second job as a firefighter and focus entirely on preparing to fight him.
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"I say it respectfully for Stipe, I would take time off from being a firefighter right now. I mean that with all due respect, my whole world is going to be focused on him, This is the biggest opportunity of my life to be the heavyweight goat and I'm going to give it everything I've got. I'm not only going to beat Stipe Miocic but I will finish him before the championship rounds," he said.
"We took zero damage tonight and I'm getting right back to practice. My teammates have fights coming up so I owe it to them to take the backseat and be their training partner. I believe that I'll go into my next fight with an even higher level of confidence, I believe that I will look even better and have even higher endurance than I did today."