With the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight division sitting at its weakest point in years, fans have repeatedly floated the idea of a Francis Ngannou return — a move that would instantly jolt the division back to life.
Well … that’s not happening.
That’s because UFC CEO Dana White has once again doubled down on his stance that the former champion is a “bad guy,” this time revealing an explosive story from behind the scenes — including an alleged physical altercation between the two.
Speaking on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast, White didn’t hold back.
“Trust me, I’ve had my moments with plenty of fighters … behind the scenes, shit goes on every f—king week,” White said. “I guess the one I will tell you is… everybody has this thing about Francis Ngannou. Francis Ngannou is a bad guy. He’s not a good guy.”
White claimed Ngannou’s polite public persona is an act.
“He plays the whole ‘doh-doh-doh, I don’t understand the language,’ and tries to come off like he’s a f—king nice guy. No, there’s no language barrier. He’s a bad guy.”
Then came the allegation: Ngannou confronting White in his office after not receiving a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus — presumably after decapitating Alistair Overeem or knocking out Cain Velasquez, bouts in which he didn’t receive a bonus.
“So, he’s just fought and he comes up to my office, and I say, ‘Come on in, what’s going on?’ He was pissed off that he didn’t get a $50,000 bonus in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I said, ‘Francis, you didn’t get it because this, that,’ and he’s in my office, and he’s arguing with me. ‘Yeah, this guy got this, this guy got that, and this is why.’ So, the conversation’s over, I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt, and like pushes me back into my office. I said, ‘Dude, get your f*cking hands off me.’”
White added that Ngannou also allegedly grabbed UFC CBO Hunter Campbell by the collar in a separate disagreement.
“I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes and in the way he’s acting, who this guy really f—king is,” White concluded. “Then, my guy Hunter, they were talking about something, it might have even been the same thing, and when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the f*cking back of his collar and f*cking pulled him back and said, ‘We’re not done talking.”
The UFC head honcho first let the public know that Ngannou was a “bad guy” last year during the UFC 308 press conference and revealed that he wanted to cut him way before he became UFC champion, but it was the matchmakers who kept him around.
Former UFC PR lead Ant Evans also chimed in after hearing White’s latest comments, saying he “believes it 100%,” adding that Ngannou often made UFC staff “very uncomfortable” when he visited the office.
For what it’s worth, Ngannou believes White is the bully, not him.
If there was ever hope for Ngannou’s UFC return, it sounds like that door has now been welded shut.
