Dana White says he wanted to cut Francis Ngannou from the UFC in 2018 but was “begged” not to do so

ABU DHABI – It appears Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA hasn’t changed Dana White’s mind about his departure from the UFC.

Days after Ngannou (18-3) defeated Renan Ferreira (13-4) at PFL: Battle of the Giants, White was asked about his impressions of the fight during a Power Slap 9 post-event press conference on Thursday.

“(His performance) was better than Donn Davis’ – a lot better,” White said with a laugh while speaking to MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Listen, man, I’ll tell you what I think about Francis: Francis is all about the money. Francis left because he knew it would hurt his chances of making the money if he fought Jon Jones and didn’t win But realistically his deal would be bigger if he stayed in the UFC Lie? Why do I care? I don’t care one way or the other.

While White’s claims that Ngannou left the UFC to avoid fighting Jon Jones are nothing new, the UFC CEO mentioned an additional detail. White said that after Ngannou suffered consecutive losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, he wanted to cut the future UFC heavyweight champion.

“I wanted to cut Francis when he lost two in a row,” White said. “I wanted to cut it. Someone here begged me not to do it. I wouldn’t have cared either way. The whole thing has a much deeper story. He would have made more money if he had stayed in the UFC. That’s a fact, my friend.

Ngannou’s departure from the UFC in 2023 was an unprecedented move, as he relinquished the promotion’s heavyweight title to venture into free agency. Ngannou took part in lucrative crossover boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia ahead of his MMA return on Saturday.

Ngannou disputed White’s claims that he would have been paid more if he had stayed, even going so far as to say he would release the numbers if necessary. However, White remained undeterred in his counterclaims.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White says he wanted to cut Francis Ngannou from the UFC in 2018 but was ‘begged’ not to