By Dane McGuire
UFC President Dana White did not hold back when expressing what he thought of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou signing elsewhere.
He clarified he didn’t think ‘The Predator’ was afraid to face anyone, particularly a heavyweight Jon Jones. But White did say Ngannou was released by the UFC and he felt Ngannou didn’t want to take any risks. Now Ngannou has fired back.
Ngannou tweeted:
“What is your problem with me?
- I completed my contract, was a free agent, and chose to walk away. you didn’t release me
- I hate taking risks? that’s why I defended my title to fulfill my contract with no acl or mcl?
- The reason I fought three times in three years is because you wanted to control my deal and signs a new one. And freeze me out. “I owe these guys three fights a year.” Isn’t that what you say? What happened? I always asked for & never said no to any fight in the 3 years
I’m finally getting paid and respected, and have a deal that’s fair and equal for all parties. Why are you so against me being free and happy?
If you ever really want that Jon Jones fight to happen reach out to
@PeteMurrayPFL
Whenever, wherever.”
Ngannou is set to debut in the cage in 2024 as part of a new “super fight” division. His deal with the PFL is exclusive to MMA, allowing him to pursue his interest in boxing. The signing benefits future opponents as well. ‘The Predator’ has since said opponents will get $2 million guaranteed. Ngannou will be earning half the pay-per-view profits.
Behind the scenes he will also head up PFL Africa and be part of an advisory board for fighters’ interests.
White said, in part, that the deal allowed Ngannou to continue to sit out as an athlete and was also critical of Ngannou entering boxing, allowed by the PFL deal. Referring back to what started Ngannou’s May 21 series of tweets, White said:
“Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me. You’re going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it’s already been like [14] months. He’s fought three times in the last three years.
“It’s just not what we do here. It’s not what we do. And the day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen. Francis wants to take zero risks, doesn’t want to take any chances, and he obviously didn’t want to take a chance with Jon Jones — and after we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane, I don’t blame him. I think the outcome would’ve been exactly the same, and I’m sure most of you do and I’m sure Francis does too.”