Francis Ngannou Claims He Is Being Disrespected By The UFC After Dana White Angered Him

UFC superstar Francis Ngannou says he is being 'disrespected' by the UFC and questioned if he is the 'really the champ or not' following the interim title bout earlier this month.

Dana White's decision to hold an interim UFC heavyweight championship clash angered Ngannou, who has hit out at the promotion.

He feels 'disrespected' by the UFC and calls the situation in the heavyweight division 'confusing' in a damning assessment.

It comes after Ciryl Gane captured another version of the UFC heavyweight title following his drubbing of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265.

Image: PA

Asked if he feels disrespected, he replied: "Yes. I have that feeling [I'm being disrespected].

"Just recently they gave me the UFC heavyweight champion, and months later they're talking about someone else being the champion. Sometimes I'm not even sure if I'm really the champ or not. It's really confusing."

On UFC 265 being headlined by an interim UFC heavyweight title bout, he added: "I think it was all business, and the UFC wanted to do a pay-per-view in Houston.

"It wasn't the right timing for me, but they wanted to do it no matter what. Just before that, they were asking me if I was ready to fight in September and I told them I'd be more than ready.

"Then, suddenly, we just saw they had an interim title...I don't know what truly happened. It's all from the UFC's end. They will be the only ones who know what happened."

Image: PA

'The Predator' added: "There's a lot going on behind the scenes, [but] people don't see it and they have their own opinion.

"Before my last fight, the UFC wanted me to sign some contract and that contract wasn't right. I didn't sign that contract and I feel like they weren't happy about that. I signed a contract before, and it didn't play out very well on my end.

"So, in order to sign another contract I think it's my right to at least look out for myself and get what is right for me to fix whatever was the mistake in the previous one. 

"And if someone doesn't believe they should fix their mistake then that means that person is not looking for anything good for you."

So, even though Ngannou said he'd be ready to defend his title in September, White and Co opted to go for an interim title contest a month before.

It appears the 34-year-old, though, will face Gane in a monstrous unification bout later this year or in early 2022 - unless White throws another spanner in the works.

Topics: Francis Ngannou, Dana White, UFC

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar