"Francis Ngannou is going to fight the winner of Aspinall-Jones" - Ex-UFC heavyweight names the only Dana White announcement that will blow his mind

A former UFC heavyweight fighter has addressed Dana White's recent assertion that he's working on something that would be a huge surprise for the fans in 2025. The retired MMA fighter deemed Francis Ngannou's potential UFC comeback against Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall as the possible surprise.

Ngannou departed the UFC in January 2023 and was stripped of his UFC heavyweight title. Presently, ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Jones holds the UFC heavyweight title.

The Cameroonian-French Ngannou exited the UFC on a tumultuous note, citing reasons such as not being permitted to compete in boxing, having a fighter advocate during meetings, better healthcare, more sponsors, etc. 'The Predator' signed with the PFL later in 2023 and also boxed twice. He's fresh off his PFL debut, knocking out Renan Ferreira in October.

Meanwhile, fans have been calling for Jones to fight interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, a matchup White recently claimed will happen in 2025. Many also argue that Ngannou must rejoin the UFC for his long-awaited clash against Jones, especially given the PFL's reported troubles and the purported lack of high-level opposition.

On episode 415 of The Schaub Show, ex-UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub implied it's tough for White or anyone to surprise fans in today's information-rich age. Schaub opined that Khabib Nurmagomedov coming out of retirement to fight his friend, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, would be mindblowing, but that's highly unlikely.

'Big Brown' speculated about multiple developments whereby White could surprise fans and zeroed in on Ngannou's return:

"With the internet today, and like the rumors and fake news, it's damn near impossible to blow somebody. No matter what he [White] says, when I heard them like, 'What could it be?' The only thing that would blow me, like blow me hard, like b*st hard, would be if it's Francis. He has one fight left on PFL contract. He's going to finish that out fighting who, God knows what poor soul they're going to find to get knocked out by him."

He added:

"And then, he'll be a free agent. If they're like, 'We got Francis back in the mix. Francis is going to fight the winner, guaranteed winner, of Aspinall-Jones.' That would blow me. But that's where I'm at. That's very difficult to get done. Outside that, what else could it be?"

Check out Brendan Schaub's comments below (26:45):

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Brendan Schaub's request to Dana White

Brendan Schaub shares a turbulent history with Dana White. Moreover, White's long been at loggerheads with Francis Ngannou. Schaub notably alluded to the PFL reportedly facing various challenges, which include accusations about preexisting contracts not being honored.

Check out the video highlighting the Francis Ngannou–Dana White beef below:

'Big Brown' implied that with the biggest UFC draw, Conor McGregor, preoccupied with his much-discussed legal battle, the UFC would potentially need to tease big matchups like Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall to help secure lucrative television/broadcast deals.

Advising White to bury the hatchet and re-sign Ngannou, Schaub said:

"If Dana put his ego and his negotiation tactics away – you know, he always holds grudges against everybody – put that to the side. PFL is sinking like a motherf**ker. And sign Francis. That would do it. Oh, sh**! 'Cause you got investors, you got stockholders, you gotta hold accountable." [29:23-minute mark of Schaub's video]