Summary
Dana White poses next to Francis Ngannou. Photo: Reproduction/@francis_ngannou
The MMA world was taken by surprise on Tuesday night (18). UFC CEO Dana White came forward to reveal disturbing episodes of his relationship with Francis Ngannou, currently under contract with the PFL. During an appearance on the YouTube channel 'FLAGRANT', the bald fighter said he was almost physically assaulted by the former heavyweight champion (up to 120,2 kg) on two occasions, which ended up influencing the course of events between the company and the fighter.
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According to White, the Cameroonian fighter constantly tries to manipulate public perception of him by feigning difficulties communicating in English. Furthermore, he confessed to having wanted to fire the fighter long before he won the title.
"Francis Ngannou He's a bad guy. He's not a good guy. He pretends he 'doesn't understand the language' and tries to seem like a nice guy. People think, 'Oh, it's probably the language barrier.' There's no language barrier with this guy. He's a bad guy. I told my guys I wanted to fire him early, and two of my... matchmakers They said, 'No, you didn't understand.' I said, 'Guys, let me tell you a story. When someone shows who they are, believe them,'" stated the Ultimate CEO.
Francis Ngannou is a PFL fighter. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/@francisngannou
According to the bald man, the first episode that negatively caught his attention regarding Ngannou's behavior occurred in 2018, shortly before their first fight. Stipe Miocic.
He was going to fight against the Stipe Miocic In Boston, and I knew I was going to finish Stipe off. So, after the press conference, we were walking down a hallway and he came up to me, grabbed me and said, 'Let me tell you what's going to happen'—his English is great, no language barrier—'when this fight is over, you're going to book a private jet for me to Paris.' I laughed and said, 'Oh, really?' He said, 'I'm not kidding, you're going to book a private jet for me to Paris.' I said, 'OK.' We each went our separate ways. Stipe Miocic "I gave him a beating. That ended the whole conversation. I should have dismissed him that day," he recalled.
Dana White says Francis Ngannou put his hands on him in a meeting once
"Francis Ngannou He's a bad guy.
After the press conference he comes over to me and grabs me and he says 'When this fight is over, you're gonna book me a private plane to Paris.'…
He was pissed off that… pic.twitter.com/pcrubfklzc
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 18, 2025
On another occasion, White said he was approached aggressively by Ngannou at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. All athletes under contract with the organization have free access to the building, and in this episode, the two reportedly came close to physical violence after the Cameroonian became angry about not receiving the Performance of the Night bonus.
“He was pissed because he didn’t get the $50 from the last fight, because he didn’t win the fight of the night bonus. I said, ‘Francis, you didn’t win because of this, because of that,’ and he came into my office and started arguing with me. I said, ‘This guy won this, this guy won that, and that’s why.’ The conversation ended, I was leaving when he grabbed my shirt and pushed me back into my office. I said, ‘Dude, get your hands off me!’ I could see in his face, in his eyes and the way he was acting, who that guy really was,” Dana said.
Ngannou reportedly repeated the behavior with other UFC employees.
Francis Ngannou is a former UFC champion. Photo: PFL Instagram
In the same interview, White stated that he wasn't the only one intimidated by the Cameroonian. According to him, Hunter Campbell, the company's main matchmaker and tipped as White's replacement, was also held down by the wrestler in a similar manner.
“My friend Hunter (Campbell), they were talking about something, maybe even about that same thing (about the bonus). And when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him back and said, 'We're not done talking yet.' This guy is not a good person. He's a bad guy,” he concluded.
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