Outside Source
Francis Ngannou allegedly had a few run-ins with Dana White during his UFC tenure. | Getty/Zuffa
Over the years, UFC CEO Dana White has implied that there is more than meets the eye to Francis Ngannou.
After Ngannou had a lackluster performance against Derrick Lewis in 2018, White stated that the heavyweight’s ego was an issue. during his initial rise to stardom. The relationship remained chilly until the UFC allowed Ngannou to leave the organization as a free agent in 2023, and more than once, White has hinted that the former heavyweight champion might not be the most upstanding character.
While that might have initially seemed like sour grapes that came from failed negotiations with a high-profile athlete, White elaborated on his issues with Ngannou during a recent appearance on the “Flagrant” podcast.
“Francis Ngannou is a bad guy,” White said. “He’s not a good guy. He plays the whole ‘I don’t understand the language’ and hetries to come off that he’s a f—king nice guy. People go ‘Oh it’s the language barrier probably.’ There’s no f—-ing language barrier with this guy. He’s a bad guy.
“I told my guys I wanted to cut him early and two of my matchmaker guys are like ‘No, you don’t understand. I said guys, let me tell you a story. When somebody shows you who they are, believe them. Believe them.”
White’s first hint of what was to come with Ngannou came after “The Predator” earned a heavyweight title shot by finishing his first six UFC opponents. Ahead of a championship clash with Stipe Miocic at UFC 220, the UFC boss claims he had an unpleasant encounter with Ngannou.
“So he’s going in to fight Stipe Miocic in Boston, and he knows he’s going to f—king kill Stipe,” White said. “So after the press conference, we’re walking down this hallway and he comes over to me and he grabs me and he says ‘Let me tell you what’s going to happen’ — his English is f—king great, no language barrier whatsoever — ‘when this fight’s over, you’re going to book me a private plane to Paris.’ I laughed and said ‘Oh yeah.’ He said ‘I’m not joking, you’re going to book me a private plane to Paris.’ I said OK.
“We go our own ways. Stipe Miocic beats the f—king s—t out of him. Beats the s—t out of him. That ended that whole conversation. I should have f—king cut him that day.”
White then detailed another encounter with Ngannou that got physical. In this case, Ngannou was unhappy over being bypassed for a post-fight bonus (It’s unclear for which fight he wanted extra compensation).
“So when you’re an athlete that’s signed by the UFC, you get full access to the Performance Institute, you can eat there for free, everything’s free and do all this stuff,” White said. “This guy was f—king living there. He had just fought and he comes up to my office, he’s in the hallway hanging out and I said ‘Come on in, what’s going on?’
“He was pissed off he didn’t get a $50,000 in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I said Francis you didn’t get it for this, that [reason] and he’s in my office and he’s arguing with me. I’m like this guy got this, this guy got that and this is why. The conversation’s over, and I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back in my office and I said ‘Dude, get your f—king hands off me.’ I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes and the way he’s acting who this guy really f—king is.”
According to White, Ngannou also got physical with another UFC executive, though the timeline isn’t exactly clear as to when it happened.
“Then my guy Hunter [Campbell], they were talking about something, it might have even been that same thing [about the bonus],” White said. “And when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the f—king back of his collar and f—king pulled him back and said ‘we’re not done talking yet.’ This guy’s not a good f—king guy. He’s a bad guy.”
I’m Sure They Wish They Never Signed Him
Ngannou has enjoyed some success since parting ways with the UFC. He narrowly lost to Tyson Fury in his first professional boxing match in October 2023, and he also defeated Renan Ferreira via first-round stoppage in his Professional Fighters League debut in October 2024. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman hasn’t competed since then, though PFL CEO John Martin indicated that plans for the heavyweight star will be revealed in the near future.
White, meanwhile, is confident that the PFL is having buyer’s remorse — no matter how it looks on the outside.
“Now he’s over and he’s done a deal with PFL and Saudi Arabia and now he’s asking to fight, ‘me and Jon Jones need to fight.’ I’m sure they wish they never f—ing signed him,” White said. “I don’t have to hear one word from any of those guys over there to know because I know. I’ve dealt with him and I know who he really is.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
