UFC President Dana White detailed some of the reasons he believes led to former heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou's departure from the company.
White spoke with the media during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference on Saturday night and was critical of Ngannou's decision to refuse a contract offer to apparently become the highest-paid heavyweight in the promotion's history, opting instead to test unrestricted free agency.
“We offered Francis a deal that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company,” White said (h/t MMA Fighting). “More than [Brock] Lesnar, more than anybody, and he turned the deal down. We get to this point where I’ve told you, guys, before, if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to be here. I think Francis is in a place right now where he doesn’t want to take a lot of risk. [He] feels he’s in a good position where he could fight lesser opponents and make more money. So we’re going to let him do that. We’re going to release him from his contract, we’re going to give up our right to match, and he can go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. That’s where we’re at. We did everything we could to try to make this fight happen and try to give him the fight, but he’s got it in his head that there’s bigger opportunities outside the UFC with lesser opponents. You’re going to fight arguably the greatest fighter of all time. You’d be the highest-paid heavyweight ever in heavyweight history, or you think there’s more money out there to fight somebody who isn’t the greatest of all time, somebody who is a lesser opponent. You’ll have to ask Francis that question, but in my opinion, that’s what it is.”
Dana White details what led to Francis Ngannou's exit from the UFC. pic.twitter.com/31Ag9PYhwU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 15, 2023
Fightful has all of your MMA and Boxing needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates, and predictions
