UFC CEO and President Dana White is making some bold claims about former UFC heavyweight champion and current PFL star Francis Ngannou.
In a new interview with the podcast Flagrant, White revealed that physical altercations took place between both Ngannou and himself, as well as between Ngannou and UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, the promotion’s de facto second in command.
Ngannou left the promotion in 2023 after the fighter and promotion failed to come to terms on a new contract. He later signed with the PFL, where has had fought once, while taking a pair of boxing matches with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The very public breakup between Ngannou and the UFC appeared to be in the past, but White’s new podcast appearance has revealed shocking allegations. According to White, Ngannou put hands on him during an argument over “The Predator” being shut out of a post-fight bonus. The incident, per White, allegedly took place at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
“He was pissed off he didn’t get a $50,000 in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I said Francis you didn’t get it for this, that [reason] and he’s in my office and he’s arguing with me,” White stated (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’m like this guy got this, this guy got that and this is why. The conversation’s over, and I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back in my office and I said ‘dude, get your f*cking hands off me.’ I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes and the way he’s acting who this guy really f*cking is.”
“My guy Hunter [Campbell], they were talking about something, it might have even been that same thing [about the bonus],” White later added. “And when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the f*cking back of his collar and f*cking pulled him back and said ‘we’re not done talking yet.’ This guy’s not a good f*cking guy. He’s a bad guy.”
White additionally claimed that Francis Ngannou made demands including travel on a private jet ahead of his first fight with Stipe Miocic, which he ultimately lost. The UFC’s head honcho stated he wanted to cut Ngannou at one point, but was talked out of doing so by the UFC’s matchmakers.
Ngannou has not responded to Dana White’s claims as of this writing. He was recently campaigning for a fight with social media personality turned celebrity boxer Jake Paul, an opportunity which instead went to Anthony Joshua.
