There’s no love lost between UFC CEO Dana White and lineal Heavyweight kingpin Francis Ngannou.
Time and time again, White has labeled Ngannou ’a bad guy’ and has even accused “The Predator” of intimidating employees at the UFC headquarters. He even considers Ngannou as unlikable as Oscar de la Hoya, his longtime promotional enemy! Ngannou, meanwhile, believes that White has been praying for his downfall, an idea White pretty much confirmed while recently admitting he really wanted Ciryl Gane to defeat
the Cameroonian champion.
If there’s anybody out there still holding out hope for Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones, White shut that down quickly this week as well.
As for the ‘impossible to work with’ Ngannou? He doesn’t buy White’s disinterest or “bad guy” claims. Responding to White’s recent comments on social media, Ngannou wondered why he was forced to jump through so many hoops and spend so much money in pursuit of his freedom if he was such a difficult, unappealing fighter?
Ngannou replied, “Saying [sic] the guy that I spent over three years and a lot of money in law firms building an escape plan to get away from, meanwhile he was doing everything in his power to ensure I was never free. You have to take that loss; it is irreversible.”
Analyzing the fallout of Ngannou’s UFC escape and subsequent feud with White, perhaps both men are in better positions? The Heavyweight division is in shambles, sure, but the UFC is more profitable than ever on account of the Paramount deal. Meanwhile, Ngannou has absolutely secured the bag in a pair of highly profitable boxing matches, as well as two lucrative MMA fights for PFL and MVP.
At 40 years of age, it’s unclear how much longer Ngannou will continue to fight. Now that MVP is an increasing presence in MMA, however, he will likely have more significant paydays available in his future. Of course, his mega fight purse could serve to bankrupt MVP MMA or help build up the UFC rival that has never quite materialized in the U.S.
Time will tell.
