Francis Ngannou and Dana White didn’t have the best of ends to their working relationship.
Towards the end of the fighter’s time as a UFC champion it became fractured.
Ngannou faces Ferreira in his first MMA fight for two years – but it’s not with UFCGETTY
Money was the main issue and in the build-up to the Cameroonian’s return to mixed martial arts, against Renan Ferreira in the Professional Fighters League (PFL)- his first MMA fight since defeating Cyril Gane in January 2022 – the thorny subject has resurfaced.
The UFC president has claimed Ngannou was offered more money to fight Jon Jones, than if he was to leave and box – where he went on to earn a $30million payday fighting Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
“He was offered more money,” said White. “I know the real numbers.”
In reply, Ngannou explained that freedom was the driving force in leaving the promotion.
“Nobody mentioned the terms of the contract, the freedom that I had to do what I want which was never an option,” said the former heavyweight champ.
When asked if the money offer to fight Jones rivalled his boxing purses he said: “No. Not even the PFL one [contract]. I’m not a mathematician but I can do one plus one. I have all the numbers. I have all the receipts.”
His first boxing match against Fury, in October 2023 – a bout he arguably won but ended in a split decision win for Fury – saw him rake in $10m.
He then followed that up five months later with $20m in his knockout loss to Joshua.
Ngannou entered the UFC in 2015 and made instant waves, going on a six fight win streak that spanned across two years.
His sheer power was something fans had never seen before in MMA with White stating “his punches are equivalent to 96 horsepower”.
Ngannou walked away from the UFC at his peak but White not strapping the belt around his waist made headlinesgetty
He eventually earned a title fight against Stipe Miocic but lost via unanimous decision in January 2018. Another loss followed in the same fashion, this time to Derrick Lewis in July of the same year.
After that fight White said: “He had a pretty quick rise here, and obviously the fight over Alistair Overeem – which won him ‘Knockout of the Year’ and earned him a shot at the title against Miocic – catapulted him, everybody was talking about him.
“I thought he was going to be the next guy. I think his ego ran away with him big-time. I can tell you that his ego absolutely did run away with him. And the minute that happens to you in the fight game, you see what happens. You start to fall apart.
“I had some personal encounters with him, as did other people in the organisation, and this guy’s ego just was so out of control.”
Their relationship in the public eye has been sour since.
After the loss to Lewis, Ngannou went on another hot streak with five straight knockout victories – the last being a revenge win over Miocic to become heavyweight champion.
Ngannou then beat Gane to defend and unify the UFC heavyweight championship in 2022, his last fight under the UFC banner.
Ngannou’s working relationship with White came to a bitter end2022 Chris Unger
It’s tradition for White to put the belt around a new champion’s waist, but the UFC president was not present in the ring, which caused controversy until it was cleared up.
White insisted he was busy elsewhere behind the scenes to sort something out and that it was not a snub.
Regardless, it was the end to his UFC career and now he is competing in a rival company.
However, he is not done with boxing either and the bumper paydays he has enjoyed.
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