"They will keep spreading lies" - Ex-UFC brass backs Francis Ngannou against Dana White's latest ducking allegations
A Sports, Media, and Talent Advisory firm of a former UFC top brass recently backed Francis Ngannou following UFC CEO Dana White's accusations of shirking from a fight against Jon Jones.
Nakisa Bidarian's company BAVAFA Sports came out in Ngannou's defense after White asserted that 'The Predator' sidestepped from the prospect of facing Jones. From White's perspective, the Cameroonian simply "didn't want to fight Jon Jones" and claimed that he did everything in his power to orchestrate the matchup.
Before venturing with his promotion, Bidarin was the Chief Strategy Officer and CFO of the UFC. He also co-founded The Most Valuable Promotions alongside Jake Paul and played an instrumental part in securing equity stakes in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as part of 'The Problem Child's multi-year contract to compete in the MMA promotion.
The combat sports community is fully apprised of Francis Ngannou's fallout with the UFC over a contract dispute. He ended up signing with the PFL, who complied with his requests and turned his hopes of exploring boxing bouts to fruition.
BAVAFA Sports came out in defense of Ngannou on X against White's claims, stating that 'The Predator' would accept the fight against Jones in a co-promotion deal. The tweet read:
"Francis Ngannou would 100% fight Jon Jones under the same terms of Mayweather McGregor. 50% of revenue to UFC and Jon, 50% to Francis and PFL."
"Francis didn’t fight Jon in UFC because the numbers didn’t make any sense. UFC fighters are unequivocally underpaid when you look at how much profit the promotion makes. That’s a credit to UFC for building an amazing platform and brand, but no different than the NBA, the fighters deserve their half of the pie. And last I checked the NBA is prospering more than ever while taking care of its athletes equitably. But they will keep spreading lies that Francis didn’t want to fight Jon."
Check out the tweet below:
When Dana White dismissed the idea of a cross-promotion arrangement for Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou
UFC CEO Dana White is not a fan of cross-promotional fights. While the 54-year-old was keen on orchestrating the Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight, the probability of that fight appears slim considering 'The Predator' signed with PFL.
Ngannou, on the other hand, has openly laid out the gauntlet for a cross-promotional venture. At the UFC 295 post-fight press conference, White was asked to weigh in on the idea. The UFC CEO wasn't particularly thrilled by the question and replied:
“We’ve got one, two, and three [largest gates in Madison Square Garden history]... They can’t sell a f****** gate. It’s a stupid question! Why would I do that? I tried to make the fight here. They didn’t want to do it but I should co-promote with a Bellator or a PFL? Why should I do that? You win the dumb question of the night, congratulations sir.”
Catch Dana White's comments below: