Dana White has once again slammed the door on any possibility of Francis Ngannou returning to the UFC. During his recent appearance on the Nightcap show, the head honcho made it clear that he has no desire to do business with a “bad guy” like the Cameroonian. But despite White making it seem like he never wanted Ngannou in his promotion, ‘The Predator’ believes otherwise.

Responding to White’s comments, Francis Ngannou revealed on X that he had to endure a lengthy three-year legal ordeal because the UFC didn’t want to let him walk away.

“Saying the guy that I spent over three years and a lot of money in law firms building an escape plan to get away from, meanwhile he was doing everything in his power to ensure I was never free,” Ngannou wrote. “You have to take that loss; it is irreversible.😎”

Francis Ngannou became much more open about his legal and contractual situation in 2022. The former heavyweight champion disclosed that the initial five-year contract he signed in 2017, before facing Stipe Miocic for the belt, contained a restrictive clause. The contract featured a championship clause stating that if Ngannou won the belt, his deal would automatically extend to three fights or one year if he still held the title at the end of the contract. 

Ngannou defeated Miocic in their rematch at UFC 260 to become the champion. But ahead of his final fight under the contract, a bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, the Cameroonian heavyweight made it clear that he had grown increasingly frustrated with the deal.

‘The Predator’ wanted a three-fight deal with the UFC while retaining the freedom to pursue boxing. Expectedly, Dana White and company weren’t remotely thrilled about the 40-year-old’s demand. Instead, they offered Ngannou a deal reportedly worth $8 million that would have made him the highest-paid UFC heavyweight. But the heavyweight phenom refused it, insisting that he wasn’t “free” within the promotion.

Because of this, Francis Ngannou took the legal route, using the sunset clause in his contract that allowed his obligations to run out after a certain period of time, ultimately enabling him to exit the UFC in January 2023. However, he’s not the only fighter to have taken this route.

In 2007, Randy Couture also declared himself a free agent while pursuing a superfight with Fedor Emelianenko. But because of his contractual obligations, Couture said he spent nearly half a million dollars pursuing a legal battle against White and company. 

In that case, Dana White had to face legal challenges from more than one heavyweight. Yet, the animosity toward Ngannou became so bitter that the UFC CEO admitted he wanted to see the Cameroonian lose. 

Dana White wanted to see Francis Ngannou lose against Ciryl Gane 

When the UFC CEO himself wants someone to lose a fight, you know things have become much more serious. Because of their bitter feud, Dana White actually wanted Ciryl Gane to beat Francis Ngannou in their UFC 270 heavyweight championship matchup.

“A guy that I wanted to lose?” White said on the Big Boy Podcast. “It would have to be Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane. Damn right I wanted Ngannou to lose.”

Though White hoped the Frenchman would prevail, the Cameroonian’s change in game plan completely turned the tide. Gane actually won the first two rounds using his precise striking, but Ngannou shifted his strategy from swinging big punches to utilizing his grappling.

That approach worked wonders as ‘The Predator’ dominated his opponent over the final three rounds to finally retain his belt and bring his UFC journey to an end. But Dana White didn’t hesitate to show that he wasn’t happy with Ngannou winning the fight.

The UFC CEO usually wraps the belt around the champion’s waist, but when Ngannou beat Gane, White skipped the ceremony and also missed the post-fight press conference.

Even after three years since they parted ways, White and Ngannou still share the same level of animosity toward each other, and it seems their feud won’t die down anytime soon unless both sides finally decide to make amends.

The reason for mentioning both sides is that Ngannou has said he would be open to returning to the UFC if they offered him a deal according to his demands. But if Dana White remains resentful, the Cameroonian can’t do much about it.