Dan Hooker takes issue with Francis Ngannou trolling Jon Jones.
‘Sincerely, The Heavyweight King’
While ‘Hangman’ has done it himself in the past, exchanging insults with ‘Bones’ over social media, he doesn’t like the fact that Ngannou is acting like he is still the UFC Heavyweight Champion towards Jones because he didn’t win the title off of him.
Ngannou would leave the UFC untouched as he dived into the waters of free agency and Jon Jones crossed paths with Ciryl Gane for the vacant title he left behind.
After Jones quickly dispatched of the Frenchman in the first round, it wouldn’t take long for ‘The Predator’ to get out a message to his rival.
“Good job Jonny Boy,” Ngannou wrote on Twitter. “Sincerely, The heavyweight king.”
Hooker Reacts To Ngannou’s Comments
Along with Jones, Hooker has also given his two cents on Ngannou’s recent trash-talk towards ‘Bones’.
“Nah, that’s not how it works,” Hooker told The AllStar, when asked about Ngannou’s comments. “You don’t [have the title]. That statement appeals to probably 5% of people that watch the UFC. Like I feel like that statement appeals to like a very small people that know the game very well. Your average Joe, 95% of the people that bought that pay-per-view tonight, they’ve already forgotten about it. Like they move so quickly, they jump so fast. They see that title strapped around Jon Jones waist— he’s the champion.”
“Francis doesn’t have the title anymore. That was the undisputed title on the line. That wasn’t an interim championship or anything like that. So as far as the history books go, Jon Jones is a champion. That’s where that conversation ends.”
More On The Matter
As for another conversation, Dan Hooker thinks there is a (small) chance we could finally see Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones, but that’s up to the UFC and Dana White has now ruled it out for good.
Even if they somehow made the fight happen, Hooker continues against the narrative that Ngannou is pushing that he is still the heavyweight king.
“Would the UFC be willing to bring Francis back? I’m sure they would. Would they be willing to bring ’em back for more money than they offered ’em at the time? I guarantee they wouldn’t,” Hooker added. “I guarantee that number hasn’t shifted at all.
“I guarantee if anything… there’s another undisputed championship and [Ngannou] will be fighting as the contender, not as the champion.”
