Dana White managed to reignite an old wound this week, not by criticizing Francis Ngannou, but by softening the very narrative he used to justify severing connections with him. The UFC CEO initially claimed that ‘The Predator’ grabbed him by the shirt during a furious disagreement about a $50,000 bonus, portraying the incident as a rare line-crossing conduct by a heavyweight who had already fallen out of favor. But now, suddenly, the story has changed.

Not erased, just dialed down. And that shift was enough to send fans spiraling. If there’s one thing the MMA world can detect quickly, it’s inconsistency. The head honcho’s clarification that Francis Ngannou “wasn’t physical,” that it was only a hand on the chest and not a shirt grab, did not calm things down. It did the opposite by bringing an already complicated breakup back to the spotlight. And fans, as always, wasted no time choosing sides.

Dana White seemingly backtracks on his Francis Ngannou story

According to Dana White‘s revised story, Francis Ngannou did not threaten him or get confrontational; instead, he simply prevented him from leaving a talk by resting a hand on his chest and insisting they weren’t done. Dana considered this to be “physicality,” but it was not the explosive conflict he had portrayed before.

He said on The Mac Life, “It’s not like Francis Ngannou came in here and threatened us or did anything like that. But as men, everybody who is a man knows there’s these situations.” It was damage control, yes, but it was also an accidental reminder of how messy that era was.

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He further added, “So I started to walk out, and he put his hand on my chest, he says, ‘We’re not done talking yet.’ And I said, ‘Oh, we’re fu–ing done talking.’ It’s not like Francis Ngannou came in here and was, like, physically—that’s what went down.” However, his story sounds quite different from what he revealed on the Flagrant podcast.

Back then, White reported how, during an argument over a $50,000 performance incentive, Ngannou allegedly grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him into White’s office. “I said, ‘Dude, get your f—— hands off me,’” White recalled on Flagrant. “I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes, and the way he’s acting who this guy really f—— is.”

Ngannou came on The Ariel Helwani Show the other day and addressed these claims. “In his office, that’s what he said, right? Well, I’m sure he has a lot of cameras there,” the ex-UFC heavyweight champ said. He further added, “I’m long gone from that. At some point, [it’s] very annoying to just have to be responsible of what people say. If Dana said this, then I’m out here going to basically defend myself of what Dana said.”

Well, this version definitely sounds a lot more action-packed compared to the definite attempt to shift the narrative now. And fans were quick to realize it too, as they stormed social media with their reactions.

Fans go all out on White’s attempt at downplaying the original claim

The supporters reacted quickly, particularly going out against those who believed the earlier version without hesitation. “Crazy how everyone ran with Dana’s original story,” one person wrote. Another added, “You d— rode the f— outta Dana from his original story.” For many, the issue was not the hand vs. shirt detail but the fact that they had seen this pattern before.

That’s why the second wave of reactions landed much harder: “Exactly! Dana lied… again and again,” one user said. “He is becoming a professional liar at this point.” Others didn’t even try to hide their sarcasm: “Dana lied? I’m shocked.” Fans now approach the UFC CEO’s contradictions as if they were a seasonal event—expected, inevitable, and always funny.

However, not everyone was ready to burn the entire story down. Some felt that the clarification matched the original energy. “‘Grabbed by shirt’ ‘hand on chest’ seems pretty similar,” argued a fan. Some others on social media agreed: “His story has been the same—Francis stopped him from leaving.” In their opinion, a hand on a chest is still a hand on a shirt, and pressure is pressure. It was the meaning that mattered, not the words.

But the actual truth is more likely to exist somewhere in that chaotic middle ground. Dana White wants the Francis Ngannou chapter closed. ‘The Predator’ has moved on to boxing and the Professional Fighters League, despite some murmurs of a UFC White House return. And every time the UFC head honcho rewrites the past, even if it’s just in the tone of it, MMA fans waste no time in reminding him that the rivalry may be over… yet the arguments definitely aren’t.