Jake Paul can cross yet another name off his list of potential replacements for Gervonta Davis. After Davis faced a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend and Paul’s MVP canceled the November 14 bout on Netflix, several names were floated as a last-minute replacement to host the fight in December. One of them, of course, was former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The Cameroonian, however, wasn’t happy about the offer. 

“I’m like, ‘no bro, come on,'” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “I mean, don’t disrespect me like that. If it [were] about the [money], I would have [told] you. I’m just not interested—it makes no sense for me. It’s not what I’m looking at right now. The fight makes no sense. That’s what I think, that’s my position.” This explanation for refusal, however, doesn’t appear to sit well with UFC legend Chael Sonnen, who held up a mirror to the 39-year-old. 

Chael Sonnen questions the hypocrisy of Francis Ngannou

Talking about the update in his latest YouTube video, Sonnen said, “I would have really liked if that match [had] gotten booked. I think that would just solve so many problems from a storyline perspective.” Referring to Francis Ngannou’s bout against Tyson Fury—where the former UFC heavyweight champion dropped the Briton—Sonnen questioned how many of those punches Jake Paul could have possibly survived.

He pointed out that when Fury agreed to face Ngannou, who was no longer the UFC champion at the time, and Anthony Joshua went on to fight Ngannou despite his loss to Fury, it made little sense for Ngannou to refuse a fight with Paul. “I don’t understand how Jake would be asking more from Francis than Francis asked of Tyson Fury. I don’t know how Jake would be asking more of Francis, more of a favor than Francis asked of Joshua, I wanted to understand that,” Sonnen claimed.

Labeling Ngannou’s previous boxing bouts as “cash-grab” fights, Sonnen asked if those “made perfect sense. What part about fighting Jake doesn’t?” He wondered if Ngannou’s hesitation was about money, but reminded viewers that Ngannou himself admitted that finances weren’t the issue—it was about “disrespect.” “It was disrespectful, rather, is the word that he used,” Sonnen recalled, questioning what other viable option Ngannou had left.

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Sonnen then reminded Ngannou, “If you’re a prize fighter, you got to fight to get the prize. It would seem to me if you had an opponent with a promoter on the phone whose checkbook is flush, it would seem to me it makes perfect sense.” He added that Ngannou’s decision to publicly reveal that he turned down the offer didn’t make him look noble—it made him look “unemployed.” 

“If you turn down fights that you don’t think are hard, or you turn down fights for any reason, it really doesn’t make you a courageous and noble man. It makes you unemployed,” Sonnen concluded in his YouTube video. Having said that, Jake Paul is now left with just three potential opponents who were reportedly approached to replace Gervonta Davis—Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford, and Nate Diaz. 

However, in reality, two of those three names are already out of the running.

Ryan Garcia and Nate Diaz are out of the running for the Jake Paul fight

Former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia has long spoken about fighting Jake Paul. However, after reports of Paul’s approach to replace Davis, Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, has clarified that the fight is impossible to make. Why? Well, because Garcia fights for DAZN, and Paul is fighting for Netflix. So, Garcia is out!

Nate Diaz, on the other hand, who lost a unanimous decision to Paul in August 2023, was among the first names to quickly agree to replace Davis. However, the fight’s still not happening. Commenting under one of Most Valuable Promotions’ Instagram posts on the Davis fight cancellation, ‘The Problem Child’ revealed why. 

“Nate Diaz is a f—ing G,” Paul wrote. “It isn’t meant to be, but respect for willing to step up on two weeks notice. So many p—ies at the top of this sport with excuses.”

What does this mean? Well, this leaves Terence Crawford as a potential replacement for Gervonta Davis. He is the only one left whose refusal hasn’t been reported yet. However, this doesn’t mean the fight’s happening. Only time will tell who Jake Paul will end up fighting. Who do you think Paul will fight?