UFC CEO Dana White and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou don’t agree on much (outside of this), but they seem to be aligned on the backstage confrontation that was initiated by “The Predator” during his hunt for a post-fight performance bonus.
Read White’s version here and compare it to Ngannou’s here.
“Let me be clear on something, too, when I say the physicality, it’s not like Francis Ngannou came in here and threatened us or did anything like that,” White told The Mac Life. “But as
men, everybody who is a man knows there’s these situations with, you know, we’re in there and he’s telling me that ‘I deserve the $50,000. I want the $50,000.’ I said, ‘You’re not getting it.’ I’m in there with him for however long we’re talking and I’m like, ‘I’m done.‘ I had another meeting.”
“This guy just used to walk around, wander around UFC headquarters like this was his house,” White added. “This guy literally spent the whole day here. Breakfast, lunch, f*cking dinner. So I started to walk out and he puts his hand on my chest, he says, ‘We’re not done talking yet.’ And I said, ‘Oh, we’re f*cking done talking.’ It’s not like Francis Ngannou came in here and was, like, physically — that’s what went down. I tell you guys all the time, we’re in the f*cking fight business. Sh*t happens.”
“My whole thing with Francis is, I have this philosophy where when somebody shows you who they really are, believe them,” White said. “And there was nobody more into Francis than me, okay? When I met this guy, I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, you are what a heavyweight f*cking champion looks like,’ all this sh*t. I was all in on Francis. Early on, I had Francis sitting behind me in the f*cking Zuffa section, in my seats. And then we were in Boston and he showed me who he was. So I told the f*cking boys, he lost a couple and I said, ‘I don’t want to be in business with this guy.’”
The 39 year-old Ngannou (18-3) parted ways with UFC back in early 2023 after failing to come to terms on a new contract, even though people behind the scenes were “begging” White to keep him around. “The Predator” was hellbent on boxing while still in his fighting prime, an option that became available through Professional Fighters League (PFL).
“There was nothing that made me happier than throwing that guy over to the f*cking PFL,” White said. “Let me tell you what, if we let guys go, feel bad for the f*cking company that gets them. We let them go for a f*cking reason. I don’t have to let anybody go. I don’t want to be in business with guys that I don’t like and that I don’t think are good guys. And when you talk about good guys and bad guys, I’m in the fight business. Sh*t happens and I’m pretty lenient when it comes to tough guy sh*t. I’m not lenient with bad guy sh*t.”
Maybe it’s time to pump the brakes on that Octagon return at UFC White House.
