Francis Ngannou has gotten the nod from Jake Paul as being the top heavyweight in MMA and got in another barb toward Dana White when a prospective Jon Jones fight was brought up.
'The Predator' will fight Renan Ferreira as he enters the PFL smart cage. Meanwhile, Paul appeared at the Battle of the Giants press conference to promote the super fight that transpires this Fall.
During the presser, former PFL champion and current broadcaster, Sean O'Connell was discussing how the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira would have to be in the conversation for the best heavyweight in MMA today, When asking 'The Problem Child' if we could see the winner of this monumental matchup fight UFC heavyweight champion Jones someday, Paul said:
"Well I think Dana [White] is scared to make it happen. I think he doesn't want to lose his horse in Jon Jones. I love Jon Jones but that's too much of a risk for Dana to take. Francis is one of the baddest if not the baddest man on the planet."
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"So I think Dana is scared. I don't think he would want to do that but the MMA fans want that. Doesn't everyone want that? But Dana never does anything for the fans."
Check out Jake Paul's comments below:
Possible PFL opponents for Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferrerira
If Jon 'Bones' Jones doesn't end up fighting the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferrerira in a cross-promotional effort, there are notable options for Ngannou and Ferreira under the PFL umbrella already.
Denis Goltsov is one-half of the 2024 finals and will vie for one million dollars in the heavyweight ranks. Goltsov was the in PFL tournament finals last year and has rebounded nicely in the subsequent season after being finished by the aforementioned Ferreira via strikes in November of last year.
The Russian native has a one hundred percent finishing rate this year and put away three reputable combatants via strikes through his 2024 campaign.
Goltsov halted former multi-time Bellator title challenger Linton Vassell, former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos (with many thinking he should have claimed the UFC light heavyweight title vs. Jon Jones), and UFC as well as Bellator stalwart Tim Johnson, with that most recent win taking place on Aug. 2.
Oleg Popov is the other heavyweight in the PFL who has punched their ticket to the finals. He came over in the PFL's acquisition of Bellator and made big waves in his new promotion. Popov put together wins over Steve Mowry, Davion Franklin, and the aforementioned Vassell on the same Aug. 2 card that saw Goltsov best Johnson.