Jon Jones demands Dana White ‘show him the money’ to set up super-fight with new heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou… as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier lead reaction to stunning UFC 260 win
- Khabib Nurmagodev led the congratulations to UFC champion Francis Ngannou
- Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic to become the heavyweight champion
- Jon Jones called for UFC president Dana White to show him the money
- Jones wants to be the first person to fight Ngannou for the heavyweight title
Jon Jones called for Dana White to ‘show him the money’ after Francis Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic to became the heavyweight champion at UFC 260.
Ngannou floored Miocic with a series of ferocious punches early in the second round to avenge his 2018 defeat by the American in emphatic fashion.
Attention now turns to Ngannou’s title defence, with many believing that UFC legend Jones should be his first opponent.
Jon Jones tweeted ‘show me the money’ as he looks to set up his first heavyweight bout
Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic in the second round of UFC 260 on Saturday night
Jones vacated his light heavyweight title last year in order to move up a division and the American made it clear he wants to challenge Ngannou.
After the fight, Jones tweeted: ‘Show me the money’. He then followed that message up with: ‘If anyone is wondering if I really want to fight, the answer is yes. I also really want to get paid.’
When asked about the possibility of Jones fighting Ngannou in the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White joked: ‘If I’m Jon Jones and I’m home watching this fight, I start thinking of moving to 185.’
The 34-year-old indicated he was ready for the challenge of taking on Jones in his next fight
The former light heavyweight champion insisted he really wanted the fight with Ngannou
Jones has been putting on weight in anticipation of his move up to heavyweight. Replying to White’s comments, Jones said: ‘Go to 185? I didn’t gain all this weight for no reason.’
Ngannou indicated he was ready for the challenge of Jones. ‘For my opinion, Jon Jones is the greatest of all time from mixed martial arts,’ he said in the aftermath of his win.
‘Him moving up is going to be a good thing. He’s going to be a challenge that I will take and I will put it on record. It will be a very good thing on my resume.
‘But this time he is gonna be the challenger, I am the champ. I am ready. Any time soon. Whenever they are ready, I am ready.’
Jones was not the only UFC star to tweet after the fight, with Khabib Nurmagomedov led the congratulations to Ngannou.
The 34-year-old became only the third UFC champion from Africa, joining Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya in the history books. Lightweight champion Khabib tweeted: ‘Congratulations Africa . Now you have 3 @UFC champions.’
Khabib Nurmagomedov led the tributes to new heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou
There were other messages of support for Ngannou, with former heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier tweeting: ‘Congratulations to the new heavyweight king of the world @francis_ngannou make no mistake about it Francis winning the title changes everything. He will change the way the UFC heavyweight title is viewed in the sports world. #ngannouera’
Fellow African champion Adesanya also wrote: ‘We’re taking gold back to Africa!!’
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson praised Miocic for his run as champion before claiming we are now in the era of ‘The Predator’.
He wrote: ‘Wow that was dominant. What an incredible #goat run @stipemiocic had. Nothing but respect for that guy. A huge congrats to my brother @francis_ngannou. The era of the Predator begins. #WarriorMana #UFC260’
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embid, who is also from Cameroon, tweeted a picture of himself with Ngannou with the caption: ‘Don’t get it twisted… I would still take you ha. Félicitations!!!! @francis_ngannou.’
Shaquille O’Neal simply wrote: ‘@francis_ngannou is a beast daaaaaaam #UFC260.’
