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After Francis Ngannou’s PFL Deal, Dana White Goes Ballistic on the Ex-UFC Champ for Ducking Jon Jones – “Wants to Take Zero Risks”

Published 05/21/2023, 3:26 AM EDT

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via Imago

Francis Ngannou penned a deal with the PFL after leaving the UFC as the heavyweight champion. UFC president Dana White was bombarded with questions regarding the French-Cameroonian’s deal with the rival promotion. However, White wasn’t a fan of it and mentioned that ‘The Predator’ is afraid to take risks.

Francis Ngannou’s PFL deal will see his first opponent earn a guaranteed $2 million as a payout. He will also act as the chairman for PFL’s expansion in Africa. The former UFC champion mentioned how important it was for him to give back to his homeland and support fighters coming out of the African continent. But Dana White doesn’t like his PFL deal.

Dana White rips into the terms of Francis Ngannou’s deal with PFL

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The 53-year-old promoter claims that Ngannou’s PFL contract is unreasonable and irrelevant. He ripped into the 36-year-old fighter’s inactivity for over 18 months. Dana White said, Based on what I know about the [Ngannou-PFL] deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me.” 

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He was highly critical of the terms of the contract. The UFC president does not entertain such terms with fighters in the UFC. White said, “You’re gonna pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it’s already been like 18 months.” He added, “He’s fought three times in the last three years. [It’s just] not what we do here.”

Moreover, the UFC president also lambasted the heavyweight star for his unwillingness to take risks.

White claims ‘The Predator’ doesn’t take risks

Dana White didn’t leave the opportunity to express his annoyance with the fact that Francis Ngannou doesn’t like to take risks in his career. He already knew the consequence of ‘The Predator’ leaving his promotion. “The day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and Francis wants to take zero risks, doesn’t want to take any chances,” said the UFC president.

In addition to the above comments, White also mentioned that ‘The Predator’ was afraid to take on Jon Jones. Moreover, he then mentioned Jon Jones‘s performance at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane.

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White believes that such performances from ‘Bones’ could be one of the reasons behind Ngannou’s reluctance to fight the reigning UFC heavyweight champion. Dana White said, “He obviously didn’t want to take a chance against Jon Jones and after we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane. I don’t blame him.” The UFC president added, “I think the outcome would have been exactly the same. I am sure most of you do and Francis does too.”

Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou have traded some verbal jibes on social media. However, due to the former’s contract with the UFC, it is highly unlikely that we will see both fighters face each other soon. Moreover, Jones has already hinted about hanging up his gloves after his fight against Stipe Miocic. It looks like we will have to wait and see what happens in the future.

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What do you make of White’s comments about Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Himanga Mahanta

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Himanga Mahanta is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. He has a passion for combat sports and a deep understanding of the intricacies of MMA. With his expertise and extensive knowledge, Himanga provides in-depth coverage of UFC events and fighters, bringing his readers closer to the action and the athletes they admire.
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Edited by:

Amal Joyce