White backs Jones as No. 1 heavyweight, doubts Ngannou would test him

It should come as no surprise that UFC president Dana White is already banging the drum that newly crowned heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the best fighter in the division.

After Jones captured the vacant title with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on Saturday, White said it's obvious that the 35-year-old is not only on a different level than Gane but also former champion Francis Ngannou.

"To even compare Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane to Jon Jones, you can't," White said at the UFC 285 postfight press conference. "You can't even compare them to this guy. He went in there and finished - I still can't f-----g believe what I saw. How easy and how fast and how simple he made that look. It's still blowing my mind. So it's hard to even talk about him and any other heavyweights."

Jones dominated in his return from a three-year layoff, getting Gane to the ground and tapping him out with a guillotine choke just over two minutes into the main event. He is now the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes.

"Ciryl Gane is a monster - in great physical shape and everything else," White said. "Jon Jones went in there and just treated him like he was a little kid."

The UFC initially targeted a blockbuster fight between Ngannou and Jones, but Ngannou left the promotion as the reigning heavyweight champion to test free agency in January. The UFC then pivoted to the vacant title bout between Jones and Gane. Had Jones fought Ngannou instead, White said he thinks the result would've been similar.

"If Francis doesn't want the fight, you can't make him fight," White said, doubling down on his recent comments that Ngannou will never re-sign with the UFC and take on Jones. "And I doubt it would've gone any differently."