Francis Ngannou responds to Dana White's recent "all about the money" comments, says UFC CEO "needs to make peace with himself"
Francis Ngannou has issued his response to Dana White's recent remarks regarding him. The former UFC heavyweight champion advised White to move on from their long-running rivalry.
Following his UFC departure in January 2023, Ngannou asserted that the UFC didn't meet his demands of being permitted to box, having additional sponsors, and more. 'The Predator' was stripped of his UFC heavyweight title after refusing to re-sign with the organization.
Ngannou eventually signed with the PFL and competed in a couple of boxing matches as well. Earlier this month, he knocked out Renan Ferreira to become the inaugural PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion in his promotional debut.
During the Power Slap 9 post-event press conference on Oct. 24, 2024, Dana White was asked about Ngannou. The UFC CEO claimed he was going to cut Ngannou from the UFC after consecutive defeats in 2018 but was pleaded by promotional brass not to.
White underscored that, realistically, Ngannou would've made more money if he'd stayed in the UFC but didn't accept their deal:
"Francis is all about the money. Francis left because he knew that if he fought Jon Jones and didn't win, it would hurt his chances of making the money that he wanted to make."
Check out Dana White's assessment below:
On SiriusXM's MMA Today, Francis Ngannou fired back by suggesting that Dana White's likely been "praying" for his downfall but he keeps "rising." Ngannou implied he's much better in most aspects than he was in the UFC. He believes White could've simply acknowledged their failed negotiations, wished him luck, and moved on:
"I think Dana is trying to make things up to buy a good face in the position that he has lost. Dana has lost in this situation. And the only thing is that he cannot stand it. Like, bro, I want everything. I left. We get apart. It's been almost two years? And the guy is still out there. He can't live without it. He can't handle me."
"Regardless of everything that happened, I'm not about him. I went out there, did a fight; have a great fight for my son memory. But the guy can't stand. I don't know what is his problem, man. But he can't make everything up as he want. That's his problem. Yeah. I think he needs to make peace with himself," he added.
Check out Francis Ngannou's comments below:
Francis Ngannou claims to have made more money than UFC career
Elsewhere during his response to Dana White, Francis Ngannou seemed to suggest that he should've been paid more money than what he received for his UFC fights against Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane:
"And which money he's talking about? The money that he owes me? Because remember -- all this ended with like they say, 'Oh, we're gonna back pay you from the money that we owe you from the Stipe and Ciryl Gane fight.' All that they never back pay me."
Francis Ngannou claimed he's made more money, "maybe twice" the amount, than what he'd earned in his entire UFC career. Ngannou also noted that even if he wasn't making more money than he did in the UFC, that'd be his problem, not anyone else's. Furthermore, some of White's critics have lent support to Ngannou amid their war of words.