Dana White has shut down a UFC return for heavyweight Francis Ngannou - and insisted he is "impossible" to work with.
Ngannou reigned as UFC heavyweight champion but elected to vacate his belt and make an exit from the promotion after failing to agree a new deal. 'The Predator' was unhappy with a number of factors of any new deal including the financial term and the inability to negotiate boxing fights outside of his contract.
He is now a free agent and has been negotiating a number of opportunities including an MMA appearance under the PFL banner, and a two-fight boxing deal with Deontay Wilder. Many including UFC legend Chael Sonnen have called for Ngannou to bury the hatchet with UFC president White and look to make a return to the UFC.
However White has claimed Ngannou will never set foot in the UFC octagon again insisting he did all he could from his side of the negotiating table to keep the Cameroon star. “No,” White replied when asked if Ngannou could ever make a return to the UFC during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “We worked with this guy [Francis Ngannou] for two years, we tried to get him a fight.
"He’s absolutely impossible to deal with. He’s – no, he’ll never be in the UFC again. So, he made his decision – we worked hard, man. One of my guys, Hunter Campbell [Chief Business Officer], who works for me, must have done 75 dinners with his guy [Ngannou], trying to get him on board. We offered him a lot of money, showed him nothing but respect. We wanted to keep him, and that ship has sailed.”
Ngannou has claimed he was unhappy with the way he was treated during negotiations, despite White insisting that he was made a financial offer that matched huge UFC star Brock Lesnar. Now the heavyweight faces an uncertain future but has plenty of offers on the table including from bare-knuckle fighting promotion BKFC.
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A key reason that Ngannou did originally depart the UFC was the ongoing verbal barbs with Tyson Fury over a potential crossover boxing match. However official talks have yet to materialise and it appears it could be on the back burner while the WBC champion focuses on his route to undisputed.
UFC legend Sonnen has insisted that Ngannou should be begging White for his place back in the UFC after Fury has now joked about the fight. "Tyson Fury put out an April 1 joke on social media that he and Francis was done, and they are fighting in Wembley on May 15," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "Tyson Fury made a joke.
"Francis has changed his whole life... Because he thought he was going to make up a sport and do it with a guy who is now using it as an April Fool’s joke. He has to wake up, and he needs to call back his boss [Dana White]. “There are not a lot of (opponent options)."
