UFC CEO and President Dana White is making some bold claims about former UFC heavyweight champion and current PFL star Francis Ngannou.
In a new interview with the podcast FlagrantWhite revealed that physical altercations occurred between Ngannou and himself, as well as between Ngannou and UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, the promotion’s de facto second-in-command.
Ngannou left the promotion in 2023 after the fighter and promotion failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. He later signed with the PFL, where he had once fought, while having a few boxing matches with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The very public rift between Ngannou and the UFC seemed to be a thing of the past, but White’s new podcast appearance has exposed shocking allegations. According to White, Ngannou laid hands on him during an argument over “The Predator” being excluded from a post-fight bonus. According to White, the incident allegedly took place at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
“He was angry that he didn’t get $50,000 in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I told Francis you didn’t get it for this, that [reason] and he’s in my office and he’s arguing with me,” White stated (h/t MMA fighting). “I feel like this guy has this, this guy has that and this is why. The conversation is over and I start to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back to my office and I said, ‘dude, get your damn hands off me.’ I could tell from the face of this man and from his eyes and the way he carries himself who this man really is.”
“My husband Hunter [Campbell]they were talking about something, it might even be the same thing [about the bonus]White later added. “And when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulled him back and said, ‘we’re not done talking yet.’ This guy is not a good guy. He’s a bad guy.”
White additionally claimed that Francis Ngannou made demands, including traveling on a private jet prior to his first fight with Stipe Miocic, which he ultimately lost. The UFC head honcho stated that he wanted to cut Ngannou at one point, but was talked out of it by the UFC matchmakers.
Ngannou has not responded to Dana White’s claims at the time of writing. He recently campaigned for a fight with social media personality turned celebrity boxer Jake Paul, an opportunity that instead went to Anthony Joshua.
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