Al Iaquinta surprised by Francis Ngannou's calm behavior amid dispute with UFC - "Francis is the guy that should be going nuts"

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou [left[, Al Iaquinta [right]

Al Iaquinta believes Francis Ngannou should take his ongoing rift with the UFC more seriously.

Things have not gone down too well between Ngannou, the reigning heavyweight champion, and the UFC lately. Apart from allegedly being underpaid, the Cameroonian also appears to be at loggerheads with Dana White as well.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Iaquinta said it was surprising how Ngannou managed to keep his cool despite everything that has been happening. The former UFC lightweight title challenger said:

"They've [the UFC] got such a hold of this whole thing. It's crazy that that can happen Francis [Ngannou]. [He] is the guy that should be going nuts right now [but] he’s such a nice guy. It’s kind of like, you ask him a question [and] he’s kind of like, ‘Yeah, well you know Dana [White] wasn't there to put the belt on it's all good.’ [I’m like] ‘What the hell is going on in the back?’ What was going on? Who was in the back? I wanna know what happened. I need to know. That must have been something crazy.”

Watch Al Iaquinta's interview below:

After successfully defending his belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Francis Ngannou reportedly made $600K. 'The Predator' has sworn not to fight for the UFC again for the aforementioned amount of pay.

Ngannou recently revealed that he had left a total of $7 million on the table in order to be able to negotiate for a new UFC contract. He argued that being an independent contractor – the status of every UFC fighter – should come with the prerogative of being able to pursue opportunities outside of the octagon.

Ngannou has been vocal about pursuing a career in professional boxing. Specifically, the Cameroonian has expressed his interest in a potential matchup with heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury.

Dana White brushes off beef with Francis Ngannou

Over the years, Dana White has regularly put the belt on the waist of title fight winners. However, he shockingly didn't show up inside the octagon to continue the tradition when Francis Ngannou beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.

Francis Ngannou reacts to Dana White not putting belt around his waist, skipping UFC 270 press conference (@DamonMartin) mmafighting.com/2022/1/23/2289… https://t.co/x1SfaoCnjU

Moreover, White didn't attend the post-fight press conference. This has caused quite a stir, certainly adding fuel to his ongoing dispute with the Cameroonian champion.

Lifting the lid on the subject, the UFC president refuted all the claims that he intentionally attempted to disrespect Ngannou.

"For anybody that thinks I was showing any kind of disrespect towards Francis—I saw Francis all week, you idiots," White said via ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "I shook his hand, I said hi to him. I was out there for the staredowns, the whole thing."

@laura_sanko White: "For anybody that thinks I was showing any kind of disrespect towards Francis -- I saw Francis all week, you idiots. I shook his hand, I said hi to him. I was out there for the staredowns, the whole thing."