Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane set for heavyweight title clash as UFC strip and release Francis Ngannou after he rejects historically lucrative new deal
Jon Jones is set to face Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Rumours about a title fight between Jones and Gane began to swirl on Saturday when a digital billboard from the UFC 285 venue circulated on social media.
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During his UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference, White confirmed the fight is on before revealing that Francis Ngannou has been released by MMA’s premier promotion after rejecting a historically lucrative new contract offer.
The UFC president said: “We offered a deal to Francis that would’ve made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company, more than Lesnar, more than everybody. And he turned the deal down.”
“We’re going to release him from his contract, give up our right to match. He can go wherever he wants, do whatever he wants.”
White believes his now-former heavyweight champion no longer wants to compete at the highest level and is more interested in taking easy money fights outside of the UFC.
He added: “I think Francis is at a place right now, where he doesn’t want to take a risk. He feels like he can fight lesser opponents and make more money.
“The guy weighs over 300 lbs, just had knee surgery, hasn’t had a real training camp. I think that probably has a lot to do with it. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen with his knee, he’s not getting younger.
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“It’s not like this is something that has never happened before. There’s been other guys that have come to us and said I don’t want to compete at this level anymore.”
Ngannou hasn’t fought since beating Gane by unanimous decision at UFC 270 last January in what was the final fight on his contract with the company.
Due to a ‘Championship Clause’ in his deal, Ngannou was tied to the promotion for three more fights or one year – whatever came first.
The 36-year-old decided to sit out the rest of 2022 to recover from a knee injury he carried into UFC 270 but is now believed to be closing in on full fitness.
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However, he is now a free agent after failing to agree on a new UFC deal and could join YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in PFL if his latest social media posts are anything to go by.
Meanwhile, Jones will be fighting for the first time since February 2020 when he defended his light-heavyweight title by beating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.
The UFC Hall of Famer relinquished his title post-fight, announced his intention to move up in weight and started the long bulking-up process.
Gane bounced back from his lone career loss against Ngannou with an emphatic knockout win over top contender Tai Tuivasa – he’ll now get a second shot at the undisputed heavyweight title.
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