‘Don’t be silly’: Francis Ngannou responds to talks of potential Jake Paul fight

Francis Ngannou has no interest in boxing Jake Paul.

Paul defeated Mike Tyson via unanimous decision in an eight-round headliner during Friday night’s Paul vs. Tyson event on Netflix. The fight was not one fans will go back and re-watch, but it did earn the 58-year-old a big payday. After the bout, Ngannou reacted to Paul’s win on Twitter, jokingly saying he would slap Paul next time he sees him, while Paul responded that maybe current UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones is “the better heavyweight after all.”

Ngannou was asked about his interest in a fight with Paul, and the PFL Superfights champ shrugged it off.

“No, no, no, no, c’mon, don’t be silly,” Ngannou told TMZ.

“Maybe if we put [Jake and Logan Paul] in the cage, maybe there’s something to do there. C’mon, like respect me a little bit.”

Ngannou made his return to MMA in October, where he quickly dispatched of surging heavyweight Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL Battle of the Giants.

Both Ngannou and Paul have executive roles within the PFL, and have supported each other over the past couple of years publicly. The former UFC heavyweight champion is continuing his defense of Paul in regards to the blowback the fight between the 27-year-old and Tyson has received.

“Remember, we are doing entertainment, and they were on Netflix,” Ngannou said. “If you subscribe to Netflix, you go there for entertainment, and if this is not entertainment, I don’t know what you are looking for. … It was entertaining, whether you like it or not. There was a curiosity to see like, man, Mike Tyson at his age, can he stand? They did entertain. So it’s working food for him, for them.

“I mean, obviously, they’re breaking the system. A lot of people will not be happy. It’s more like a freelancer that doesn’t belong to any institution, and then people [don’t] like it. …

“Every time you go against institutions, you’re going to expect a hit, but that doesn’t mean you’re doing wrong.”