Francis Ngannou catches strays as Dana White reacts to Usman Nurmagomedov's UFC dream: "Nobody wants to fight in the f***ing PFL"
Dana White jibed at ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou while responding to Usman Nurmagomedov's recent comments. White suggested that the vast majority of the PFL's best fighters desire to compete in the octagon.
Ngannou's final UFC fight was in January 2022. What followed was an injury hiatus and a lengthy negotiation period. 12 months on from his win over Ciryl Gane, while still holding the heavyweight title, he departed the organization.
The Cameroonian noted that he wasn't permitted to box while contracted to the UFC. Ngannou also alleged that some of his other demands, such as having additional sponsors, a fighter advocate in meetings, etc., weren't met.
'The Predator' signed with the PFL and has boxed twice since. Ngannou's MMA hiatus ended with his PFL debut this past weekend. He defeated Renan Ferreira via first-round KO to win the inaugural PFL Super Fights heavyweight belt.
PFL founder Donn Davis claimed the event's viewership beat every UFC card this year. But whule many fans and experts regard the PFL as a prominent MMA organization, especially after it acquired Bellator, most behold the UFC as the world's longtime premier MMA organization.
Reigning Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, the younger brother of UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov and cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, recently expressed interest in moving to the UFC.
Usman acknowledged his training partner and current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's title reign and implied that he'll take over the throne after Makhachev retires. The 26-year-old outlined his plans to join the UFC at 28 and compete there until he's 32.
During the Power Slap 9 post-event press conference this week, Dana White was asked about the undefeated Nurmagomedov's remarks and whether he's interested in signing him to the UFC.
The UFC CEO responded by jabbing at the PFL and Ngannou:
"I mean, all their good people want to be over here, anyway. So I would imagine that, eventually, yes, they will be here. Nobody wants to fight in the f***ing PFL, except for Francis."
Check out Dana White's comments below:
Dana White proposes a fight he feels demands greater fan interest than Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou
A reporter referenced the long-discussed potential MMA fight between reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.
When asked what would be needed to make that matchup materialize, Dana White opined that a fight between Jones and current interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is more desired:
"I think fans are dreaming about Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. That's the fight I think they're dreaming about. I think that if Stipe wins the fight or Jon Jones wins the fight, the way that both of those guys are wired, I think they fight Aspinall. So we'll see."
Presently, Jones is booked to defend his UFC heavyweight title against former divisional kingpin Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 next month. Meanwhile, Ngannou is open to both boxing and continuing his PFL journey in 2025's second quarter.