"He does take care of his champions... people don't really know how generous Dana is" - Rashad Evans on the Francis Ngannou/UFC contract dispute
Francis Ngannou and the UFC have been embroiled in a contractual dispute for a while now. Rashad Evans recently weighed in on the ongoing dispute between the promotion and its heavyweight titleholder.
The UFC Hall of Famer praised White for being an upfront guy, even though people might disagree with his view. Evans also claimed that the UFC president takes care of his champions.
According to 'Suga', people don't really have an inkling of how generous Dana White really is. Rashad Evans said on the PBD Podcast:
"I don't always gotta like what somebody say but if they kind of shooting straight from the hips, then I can accept that. And Dana's one of those guys. And he does take care of his champions, you know. He makes sure that he does whatever he can. He is one of those guys who does things and doesn't say anything about it. Like, people don't really know how generous Dana is and the things that he do. Because he is not one of those guys, 'Oh I did this.' And he doesn't brag about it at all. He just does it."
Catch Evans' appearance on the PBD podcast below:
Francis Ngannou wants a new UFC deal
Francis Ngannou secured his status as undisputed heavyweight champion with an emphatic decision victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. Ahead of the highly anticipated title unifier, which was the last fight of his contract and would have seen him enter free agency with a defeat, Ngannou made his desire for an improved deal known.
Along with a pay rise, 'The Predator' wants the option to venture into professional boxing. Francis Ngannou told ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto:
"I will not fight for $500,000, $600,000 anymore. I mean, it’s over. It’s over. I just did this. I took this fight for a personal reason and because I want to make sure that regardless, even if it’s unfair, I have been wrongly treated, I can make my case to say I have completed the eight fights. But no. We’ve been having this [boxing] discussion for a year and it seems like they were OK with it. Whatever you’re doing, whatever the event is, whether it’s boxing, when the UFC is involved, it’s just going to make it bigger."
Catch Ngannou's interview with ESPN MMA below: