Dana White is eager to move on from Francis Ngannou, citing a past altercation and expressing relief at Ngannou’s departure to the PFL, as he no longer wishes to work with him.
Dana White’s ready to move on from Francis Ngannou. In November, the UFC CEO claimed there was a physical altercation with Ngannou at UFC’s Vegas headquarters. Ngannou, when asked, didn’t deny it, simply saying, “I don’t find it important [to respond].”
White downplayed the incident in an interview with TheMacLife but insisted Ngannou was in the wrong. “Let me be clear,” White said. “It’s not like Francis threatened us. But he was demanding $50,000, and I said, ‘You’re not getting it.’”
Apparently, Ngannou used to hang around UFC headquarters all day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, you name it. White described a moment when Ngannou put a hand on his chest, insisting they weren’t done talking. White’s response? “Oh, we’re fucking done talking.”
After losing to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, White considered cutting Ngannou loose. But others in the promotion convinced him otherwise. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” White said. He was once all in on Ngannou, calling him the ideal heavyweight champion.
White recalled having Ngannou sit in the Zuffa section during fights. But after a couple of losses, White decided, “I don’t want to be in business with this guy.” Ngannou fought six more times, eventually becoming heavyweight champion again. Yet, contract negotiations stalled after his fight with Ciryl Gane.
Ngannou became a free agent in January 2023, leaving UFC and signing with PFL. White’s stance? He’s thrilled to see Ngannou go. “If we let guys go, feel bad for the company that gets them,” White said. He doesn’t want to work with people he doesn’t like.
In the fight business, White claims he’s lenient with “tough guy shit,” but not with “bad guy shit.” And that’s that.