Randy Couture claims Dana White wanted Francis Ngannou to lose at UFC 270 - "They don't want Francis to have that power"
Based on Dana White's behavior at UFC 270, Randy Couture believes the UFC president and his promotion were hoping for Francis Ngannou to lose his heavyweight title at the Honda Center on January 22.
'The Predator' locked horns with Ciryl Gane in the opening pay-per-view of the year. He won the fight via unanimous decision and, in doing so, upset the odds and retained his strap in the face of adversity.
Heavyweight legend Randy Couture believes Ngannou's triumph was something that White and the UFC management were hoping to avoid. He believes they would have much preferred for the Cameroonian not to have the kind of leverage over the promotion he now possesses as contract negotiations continue.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Couture was asked whether he was surprised to hear that the UFC had sent Ngannou's camp a legal notice ahead of his fight. The threat was sent to Ngannou's manager for supposedly communicating with Jake Paul's camp.
Here's what the UFC Hall of Famer had to say about it to Ariel Helwani:
"Honestly, I'm not surprised. This is classic Zuffa and Dana White. At the end of the day they don't want [Francis Ngannou] to have that power. They would have been much happier if Francis would have lost that fight. I think that's what they expected to happen. I think Dana White can say whatever he wants but he didn't show up in that cage to put that belt around his heavyweight champion. He didn't show up to the post-fight press conference. And there's a reason for that."
Furthermore, Couture declared that regardless of how the UFC president tried to explain his absence inside the octagon after the main event and at the post-fight press conference, he was hoping for Gane to emerge victorious. Couture asserted that White's behavior was extremely telling in that regard.
Watch Randy Couture's interaction with Ariel Helwani right below:
Francis Ngannou addresses Jon Jones' online battles
A mega-fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones is perhaps one of the most anticipated fights in the UFC heavyweight division.
However, the Cameroonian is uncertain whether the fight can actually materialize. He offered some insight into the blockbuster matchup while in conversation with Bruce Buffer on his podcast, It's Time.
“I think the first thing we have to know is if Jon Jones is going to fight or not. Because actually, he finds himself a better battle on Twitter than in the octagon.”
Check out Francis Ngannou's appearance on the It's Time podcast below:
Francis Ngannou was referring to the recent tweets that 'Bones' posted in the aftermath of UFC 270. The former UFC light heavyweight champion went on a tweet-and-delete spree, offering his take on the heavyweight clash between Ngannou and Gane.
Jones declared that he was unimpressed with the level of talent in the promotion's heavyweight division.
If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it. Got some more records to break