Fight fans are not buying Dana White 's reason for snubbing Francis Ngannou after his UFC 270 win against Ciryl Gane.
White was nowhere to be seen after Ngannou outwrestled Gane over five rounds to defend his UFC heavyweight title for the first time.
Fans were quick to assume the UFC president's absence was related to Ngannou clashing with the promotion over contractual issues.
But White denied these claims and said he was absent from the main event because of "stuff going on backstage".
Refusing to believe the explanation for his absence, fans on social media have weighed in on the situation.
One user wrote: "So…what was that thing going on backstage? Why did it also preclude him from doing the post-fights press conference?"
"What "stuff", exactly, does Dana expect us idiots to believe was more important than the UFC heavyweight title fight." another user wrote.
White said he never intended to disrespect Ngannou by being absent from his fight and labelled those who criticised his actions as "idiots".
A third said of White's actions: "Of course, Dana deflects criticism by calling people names.
"No one thinks you were disrespecting Ngannou, we think you were throwing a b**** fit because he won and you clearly didn’t want him to," a fourth added.
White also said the only main event he ever walked out on, because of a fighter involved, was when Anderson Silva fought like a "jackass" against Thales Leites at UFC 112 in 2010.
The UFC boss praised Ngannou - who suffered torn knee ligaments before the fight - for his "genius" gameplan that earned him a unanimous decision win.
What were your thoughts on Dana White's snub of Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below
It marked the last fight on Ngannou's UFC contract, who will be free to leave in December despite the champion's clause extending his deal by one bout.
'The Predator' will only resign with the UFC if he is allowed to box heavyweight stars such as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder whilst under contract.
And the heavyweight champion said if his UFC days are over, he is happy with what he's achieved.
“Do the UFC still want me to fight there? You should ask them. They should be the one answering that question. If they make things right, yes [I will fight for them]," he said on The MMA Hour.
“It’s going to be on my way. I’m going to make the call on how it ends. It won’t end on somebody’s rules. It will end on my rules. If this is the end, I am happy."
