Francis Ngannou reacts to Jon Jones defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285: “I was surprised”
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou reacted to Jon Jones defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, saying that he “was surprised.”
Jones needed less than one round to finish Gane with a first-round guillotine choke submission to capture the vacant UFC heavyweight title in his first fight in over three years. It was an exceptional performance by “Bones,” but also a poor outing by Gane, who Ngannou needed five full rounds to defeat just last year. Of course, Ngannou was watching this fight, and he has now given his full thoughts on what happened.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ngannou said he was “surprised” that Gane tapped out so quickly in the fight, suggesting the Frenchman was also taken aback by how quickly Jones was able to get his arm around his neck and choke him out.
“I knew that if Jon Jones shows up in a good space mentally, not like his last two fights, he’s going to prevail in this fight, but I didn’t see this fight going this short. I think this fight could have been longer. I was surprised, though. I was surprised the way that the fight ended. And I think even seeing Ciryl’s reaction, he was surprised as well because he wasn’t even defending. He wasn’t thinking that a submission could come from where he was,” Ngannou said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Although “The Predator” was impressed by Jones’ performance, it doesn’t change the fact that this fight isn’t going to be happening now that Ngannou is no longer on the UFC roster. Although the fans want it, Ngannou says the ship has already sailed.
“Fun fight, a fight I’d like to have but unfortunately, we are not there. That fight didn’t happen, and probably will never happen now that he’s on a long, very long contract with the UFC. So, that’s not happening anymore,” Ngannou said.
Were you as surprised as Francis Ngannou was by how quickly Jon Jones finished Ciryl Gane at UFC 285?
