Dana White shares four-word reaction to Francis Ngannou's PFL debut against Renan Ferreira this weekend
Francis Ngannou's upcoming PFL debut against Renan Ferreira is of little concern to Dana White. At a recent 'Dana White's Contender Series' press conference, the UFC CEO was asked for his thoughts on the matchup between his promotion's former heavyweight champion and the PFL's reigning heavyweight kingpin.
Naturally, White was dismissive of the question. However, instead of embarking on a lengthy rant to discredit the rival promotion, he kept his words short and to the point. According to him, he could hardly care about this weekend's PFL card.
"What do I care?"
Check out Dana White dismiss Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira (24:01):
Ngannou's bout with Ferreira is being marketed as one contested for the 'lineal heavyweight title' due to Ngannou's status as a former UFC heavyweight champion who never lost the belt inside the octagon. Meanwhile, Ferreira is the current PFL heavyweight titleholder.
Despite the magnitude of the fight, especially given that it marks Ngannou's return from MMA since his stint in boxing, White is less than interested. This isn't the first time that the UFC CEO has either dismissed or spoken ill of the PFL, having previously criticized the promotion for a perceived lack of financial success.
Prior to his comments on the Ngannou vs. Ferreira bout, he was asked about the PFL's attempt to discredit their former fighter and recent UFC acquisition Kayla Harrison ahead of her sophomore UFC fight against Ketlen Vieira. As always, White was dismissive of the PFL, and continues to be so.
Francis Ngannou and Dana White haven't been on good terms
The relationship between Francis Ngannou and Dana White hasn't always been a positive one, especially after White criticized 'The Predator' for having ego issues following the Cameroonian's heavyweight title loss to Stipe Miocic in their first encounter. Things have only worsened since his departure from the UFC.
Ngannou left the promotion as its heavyweight champion and has had to deal with the UFC attempting to erase him from history by claiming that Tafon Nchukwi was the first Cameroonian fighter in the promotion, despite both Ngannou and ex-PRIDE sensation Rameau Sokoudjou having fought for the UFC.
Thereafter, Ngannou's name was also stricken from a UFC Embedded episode ahead of UFC 305 when Israel Adesanya mentioned him and Kamaru Usman in reference to the 'Three Kings' era of the UFC, when all three men were champions.