Francis Ngannou and Dana White blamed each other for the failed fight with Jon Jones, while Randy Couture doubts UFC will co-promote with PFL, despite potential financial incentives from Saudi Arabia, and hopes Ngannou’s return in October reaffirms his status among top heavyweights.
Francis Ngannou and UFC CEO Dana White have been pointing fingers recently. They can’t seem to agree on why a fight between Ngannou and Jon Jones never materialized.
White insists it was Ngannou’s fault. Meanwhile, Ngannou claims the UFC told him Jones wasn’t interested when he was negotiating a new deal. In the end, no agreement was reached.
Now, Ngannou is gearing up for his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira in October. Jones, on the other hand, is set to fight Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 at UFC 309.
Technically, there’s nothing stopping UFC and PFL from collaborating. This could pave the way for a Ngannou vs. Jones showdown or even a bout with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
However, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture isn’t optimistic about such partnerships. He cites his own frustrating experience as evidence.
“I know the UFC’s got too big [of] an ego to let that happen,” Couture told MMA Fighting. “That’s why the Fedor [Emelianenko] fight never happened [for me]. Because M-1 wanted to do a co-promotion and the UFC’s never going to let that happen.”
Back in 2007, Couture tried to arrange a fight with Fedor Emelianenko. It led to a lawsuit and court battle with the UFC.
Eventually, Couture returned to the UFC as time was running out on his career. He was already in his mid-40s by then.
With UFC being the dominant force in MMA, there’s little incentive for them to co-promote. The risk of someone like Ngannou beating a current champion is too high.
Couture wishes it were different but remains skeptical. He doubts Ngannou or anyone from PFL will get a shot at UFC’s top fighters.
“I don’t see the champ in the UFC ever getting a shot at fighting the champ from PFL or any other organization for that matter, and that’s unfortunate,” Couture said. “That’s a shame that the fans are never going to get to see those type of matchups. That’s one of the flaws and issues in our sport right now.”
Despite this, Couture holds out some hope. Maybe TKO Group Holdings’ new owners will change their minds someday.
Another wild card is the influx of money from Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, led by Turki Al-Sheikh.
During UFC’s first show in Saudi Arabia, Al-Sheikh expressed interest in seeing fights like Ngannou vs. Jones happen in the future. White responded with cautious optimism: “We’ll see what the future holds,” he said, praising Al-Sheikh as a business partner.
“At the end of the day, I think Ari [Emanuel] is the one calling the shots,” Couture said about TKO CEO Ari Emanuel. “He’s the one that bought the company from Zuffa.”
“It’s his business,” Couture added. “He has shareholders and people he has to answer to, and needs to do what’s best for the bottom line for that company [TKO Group Holdings], that includes WWE and UFC and everything that’s going on there.”
“Certainly, the [Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund] and what the Saudis are holding and what they’re doing with LIV Golf, and all the other things that they’re doing to build culture and create opportunity for their citizens and their athletes in their country,” Couture continued. “That [fight] could very well happen because that kind of money can make a lot of things happen.”
If UFC remains firm on not allowing an Ngannou vs. Jones fight, Couture still wants to see another heavyweight title unification bout.
“Aspinall and Jon Jones would be an amazing fight,” Couture said. “They need to put it on the line and settle that and unify those titles and fight. Make it happen.”
Regarding Ngannou, Couture acknowledges his long absence from MMA has likely cost him his No. 1 ranking among heavyweights.
But October offers Ngannou a chance to remind everyone of his prowess in the heavyweight division.
“This is a huge fight for Francis for a whole bunch of reasons,” Couture said. “Getting back into that cage, shoring up that wrestling, sharpening those tools.”
“MMA is different from boxing,” he continued. “Anybody who can’t see that now is missing the point.”