Francis Ngannou says UFC owes him money, Dana White backs out of Jon Jones fight | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said during an interview on Sirius XM Fight Nation’s MMA Today that UFC president Dana White still owes him money.

“What money is he talking about? The money he owes me?” Ngannou said in response to recent comments White made during a press conference leading up to UFC 308 (h/t ESPN’s Andreas Hale).

“Remember, this all ended with [them] say, “Oh, we’ll pay you back the money we owe you for the stipe.” [Miocic] and Ciryl Gane fight’, all that. They never paid me back. Now I’ve made more money than I ever did in the UFC – I would say twice as much money as I ever could have made in my entire UFC career had I continued in the UFC.

“Either way, if I made less money, if I didn’t make enough money that I could have made in the UFC, then that would be my problem. Why is he so mad that I don’t make as much money? Like, c’ My man, live your life.

White had this to say about Ngannou, who left UFC in January 2023 and signed with PFL four months later.

“Francis left because he knew that if he fought Jon Jones and didn’t win, it would hurt his chances of making the money he wanted to make,” White said.

“But realistically his deal was bigger here. His deal would be bigger here if he stayed in the UFC. They can deny all they want, why the hell should I lie? Why do I care? It doesn’t matter.” In my opinion, he would have made more money one way or another if he had stayed in the UFC.

As Hale noted, Ngannou was allowed to pursue outside opportunities after signing with the PFL. He fought heavyweight boxing titans Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and reportedly earned $20 million for both fights, according to Hale.

This article will be updated shortly to provide further information and analysis.