Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou appeared to aim a thinly-veiled shot at his old boss Dana White in the name of his new boxing promotion for his fight with Tyson Fury.
The former UFC heavyweight never dropped his belt after fighting out his contract with the top MMA promotion and moving to the sport's No.2 PFL where he has autonomy over his career. And his relationship with White was infamously rocky, eventually ending in the company allowing him to leave without a matching period.
He will return to the cage next year, but will first take on a massive money boxing match with his boxing counterpart Fury in Saudi Arabia this October. And in a game-changing move for the Cameroonian's career, he will be a partial promoter in the event, launching his GIMIK Fight Promotions.
White infamously declared that his promotion doesn't engage in "gimmick fights" days before beginning talks with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter boss Elon Musk for a crossover bout. He has been roundly mocked for the hypocrisy of the statement, with many noting on social media that it appears Ngannou is taking a swipe at his old boss.
The UFC president was discussing a potential fight between Ngannou and former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, which the Brit had called a "gimmick fight". White believes that they are "one of the big problems with boxing right now," and infamously declared "that's not what I do here, that's not what I do."
What do you think of Francis Ngannou's jab at Dana White? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
He also offered Fury a crossover fight with modified rules against his new heavyweight champion Jon Jones. But the boxer has opted for Ngannou, who is viewed by more fans as the true champion after defeating Stipe Miocic for the lineal belt and defending against Ciryl Gane, who when he faced him was undefeated.
Asked by Mirror Fighting last month if he felt the decision to allow Jones to pursue such a fight was a veiled shot by White, Ngannou replied: "That was never an idea when I was in the UFC and now that I'm not in the UFC I think that everything is all about 'how to take down Ngannou', but Ngannou stands up. I'm going to be here for a while!"
