Dana White said he was unable to put the belt on Francis Ngannou after UFC 270 title win because he was dealing with "stuff going on backstage".
Ngannou defended his UFC heavyweight title for the first time by outpointing interim champion Ciryl Gane last weekend.
'The Predator' is now out of contract with the promotion after refusing to sign a new deal before the fight, stating he felt "unprotected" in terms they offered him.
The UFC created an interim title just five months after Ngannou won the title last year, but White insists he was on good terms with the Cameroonian during fight week.
And White has denied claims that he intentionally snubbed Ngannou after defending his title against Gane.
“I wasn’t out there for the main event — I actually walked out of the arena right after the co-main event because there was stuff going on backstage that I was dealing with,” he said during a Q&A session on ESPN+.
“For anybody to think that I was showing any type of disrespect towards Francis — I saw Francis all week, you idiots. I shook his hand, I said hi to him, I was out there for the staredowns, the whole thing.”
Ngannou has backed up White's comments about the pair being on good terms before the fight, bumping into each other at dinner but avoiding discussions of his contractual issues.
Despite owing the UFC another fight, Ngannou will be free to leave the promotion in December as the contract he signed in 2017 cannot exceed five years.
White reinforced his argument by explaining that he wasn't cageside for Michael Bisping's title win in 2016, running out at the last minute to put the belt on the Brit.
Will Francis Ngannou stay with the UFC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
“For anybody to think there was some type of disrespect shown towards Francis, I wasn’t out there for Michael Bisping [vs. Luke] Rockhold either because I was dealing with some stuff,” White continued.
“I sprinted from the back, I didn’t even have my jacket on. I only had my shirt on to go out there and put the belt on Bisping. But I couldn’t make it out there to put the belt on Francis."
White said he only walked out on a main event when he was left "embarrassed" by Anderson Silva's performance against Thales Leites at UFC 112 in 2010.
“There’s only been one time that I’ve walked out on a fight and made it very clear, showed up to the press conference and said this is exactly why I left," he said.
"It was in Abu Dhabi with Anderson Silva [at UFC 112], it was the Demian Maia fight. So there’s the answer. I don’t know if somebody asked that, but somebody wanted to. There you go.”
