UFC veteran goes on lengthy rant about why "evil, awful" Dana White did not agree for Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou
Former UFC contender Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match. Ngannou made his boxing debut against Fury last weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
While most expected 'The Gypsy King' to breeze past Ngannou, the Cameroonian shockingly pushed the WBC heavyweight champion to his limits. Ngannou even scored the lone knockdown of the fight in the third round. However, Fury ultimately won the contest via split decision.
In the aftermath, many heaped praise on Francis Ngannou for proving his haters wrong, especially those who criticized his UFC exit earlier this year to pursue boxing. Dana White was among the most notable critics of Ngannou during that phase and expressed doubt about the Cameroonian finding success several times.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen defended White and explained why the UFC CEO could never agree to let Francis Ngannou fight Tyson Fury while being an active champion in the promotion. He said:
"The stories, in the way they're coming out, is Francis should be able to re-sign [with UFC], and he should be able to pursue this... You're making that claim without understanding how the business works."
He continued:
"When that fight [Fury-Ngannou] was a bomb... Why the only way we could get that fight together was if we found an entity that was willing to lose?... Because there wasn't significance... If Francis won, he wouldn't become the champion... So when you lose significance, you have a big problem... You've got the evil, awful Dana White and the evil, awful empire match with your misconceptions."
Catch Sonnen's comments below (12:40):
Francis Ngannou next fight: Coach Erick Nicksick still dreams about 'The Predator' fighting Jon Jones someday
Earlier this year, Francis Ngannou left the UFC after contract renewal talks broke down after the promotion refused to let the Cameroonian pursue boxing independently. With that, the possibility of Ngannou fighting Jon Jones in an exciting heavyweight contest went out the window.
Ngannou later signed with the PFL, who allowed him to box outside the promotion and was linked to several high-profile pugilists before securing the Tyson Fury fight. Meanwhile, Jones returned after his extended hiatus and defeated Ciryl Gane to win the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285.
While it's highly unlikely that Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones could clash in the cage, given the UFC's stubborn refusal to co-promote events, Ngannou's head coach Eric Nicksick still dreams of his famed pupil fighting Jones someday. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, he said:
"In a perfect world, for me, I still want that Jon Jones fight... Just because I want to compete against the best, and I think Jon is the best. I don’t want any more guesses about who is the baddest man on the planet. Let’s run it."