UFC CEO Dana White and former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou have had tumultuous relationship over the years, but the extent of it we didn’t know.
Ngannou arrived in the UFC in late 2015 with an intimidating physique, a movie-worthy backstory, and a cargo ship full of punching power. He finished his first six octagon opponents and was the scariest fighter on the UFC roster. After running through his first six opponents, “The Predator” fought then-champion Stipe Miocic in the UFC 220 main event in January 2018.
He wouldn’t win the heavyweight title in his first attempt, but was one of the organizations most recognizable figures. According to White, Ngannou’s soft-spoken public persona didn’t match the Ngannou behind the scenes. According to White, Ngannou once tried to physically bully him.
“Francis Ngannou is a bad guy,” White said on the Flagrant podcast. “He’s not a good guy. He plays the whole, I don’t understand the language, and he tries to come off like he’s a f**king nice guy… There’s no f**king language barrier with this guy. He’s a bad guy. And I told my guys, I wanted to cut him early, and two of my matchmaker guys were like, ‘Oh, no. You don’t understand.’ I was like guys, let me tell you a story. When somebody shows you who they are, believe them. Believe them.
“So, he’s going in to fight Stipe Miocic in Boston, and he knows he’s going to f**king kill Stipe. Right? So, after the press conference we’re walking down this hallway and he comes over to me. He grabs me and he says, ‘Let me tell you what’s going to happen.’ His English is f**king great,” explained White.
“No language barrier whatsoever. ‘When this fight’s over, you’re going to book me a private plane to Paris.’ I laughed and said, oh yeah? He said, ‘I’m not joking. You’re going to book me a private plane to Paris.’ I said, okay. So, we go our separate ways. Stipe Miocic beats the f**king sh*t out of him. Beats the sh*t out of him, so that ended that whole conversation. I should have f**king cut him that day.”
Related: Chael Sonnen and Francis Ngannou nearly fought in a parking garage
Ngannou’s aggressive tactics weren’t an isolated incident. He’d go further at the UFC Performance Institute and in White’s office.
“So when you’re an athlete that’s signed by the UFC, you get full access to the Performance Institute, you can eat there for free, everything’s free and do all this stuff. This guy was f*cking living there,” White said. “He had just fought and he comes up to my office, he’s in the hallway, or whatever, hanging out and I said ‘come on in, what’s going on?’
“He was pissed off he didn’t get a $50,000 in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I said Francis you didn’t get it because this and that. And he’s in my office and he’s arguing with me. I’m like this guy got this, this guy got that and this is why. The conversation’s over, and I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back in my office and I said ‘dude, get your f*cking hands off me.’ I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes and the way he’s acting who this guy really f*cking is.”
Ngannou and the UFC parted ways in early 2023 after failing to come to terms on a new contract. The fight promotion waived its one-year matching rights clause, making Ngannou an unrestricted free agent. He inked a deal with the Professional Fighters League a couple of months later that allowed him to accept professional boxing matches.