ABU DHABI – It appears Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA didn’t change Dana White’s mind about his departure from the UFC.
Days after Ngannou (18-3) pounded out Renan Ferreira (13-4) at PFL: Battle of the Giants, White was asked his impressions of the fight during a Power Slap 9 post-event press conference Thursday.
“(His performance) was better than Donn Davis’ – way better,” White said with a laugh when speaking to MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Listen, man, I’m going to tell you what I think about Francis: Francis is all about the money. Francis left because he knew if he fought Jon Jones and didn’t win, it would hurt his chances of making the money he wanted to make. But realistically his deal was bigger here. His deal was bigger here if he stayed in the UFC. I think I told this story a million times. They can deny it all they want. Why the f*ck would I lie? What do I care? It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.”
While White’s claims of Ngannou leaving the UFC to avoid fighting Jon Jones are nothing new, the UFC CEO mentioned an additional detail. White said that, after Ngannou suffered consecutive losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, he wanted to cut the future UFC heavyweight champion.
“I was going to cut Francis when he lost two in a row,” White said. “I was going to cut him. Somebody around here begged me not to do it. It wouldn’t have mattered to me one way or the other. There’s a much deeper story to this whole thing. He would’ve made more money if he would’ve stayed in the UFC. He didn’t want to fight Jon Jones. That’s a fact, my friend. We’re moving on.”
"I was going to cut Francis when he lost two in a row. Somebody around here begged me not to do it."
Dana White hurls another round of criticism at Francis Ngannou and is not interested in a fight vs. Jon Jones. pic.twitter.com/IZjeNgq06M
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 24, 2024
Ngannou’s 2023 departure from the UFC was an unprecedented move, as he vacated the promotion’s heavyweight title to venture into free agency. Ngannou competed in lucrative boxing crossover fights vs. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before his MMA return Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou has disputed White’s claims that he would’ve been paid more had he stayed, even going as far as to say he would provide the numbers if need be. White has remained unwavering in his counterclaims, however.
