Ex-UFC Employee Reveals 'Uncomfortable' Francis Ngannou Incident Behind Scenes
A former UFC employee has opened up on an "very uncomfortable" incident informing former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, amid Dana White's claim about the Cameroonian.
Ngannou, who came from nothing in his native Cameroon, had a total of 14 fights in UFC - becoming heavyweight champion in 2021 when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in devastating fashion.
He was later stripped of the title in 2023 after after unsuccessful negotiations over a new contract, left the organisation and signed with PFL, who allowed him to take part in lucrative boxing bouts with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou has been at odds with White for a while but the UFC president has re-opened the war of words by claiming that 'The Predator' is "a bad guy" and he has experienced it first-hand.
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In an appearance on the Flagrant podcast, White revealed that he had an altercation with Ngannou, who put his hands on him in a meeting in his office at the UFC headquarters following a disagreement when the fighter didn't receive a Performance of the Night bonus for a victory.
“So when you’re an athlete that’s signed by the UFC, you get full access to the Performance Institute, you can eat there for free, everything’s free and do all this stuff,” White said.
“This guy was f*cking living there. He had just fought and he comes up to my office, he’s in the hallway hanging out and I said ‘come on in, what’s going on?’
“He was pissed off he didn’t get a $50,000 in his last fight, that he didn’t get the bonus of the night. I said Francis you didn’t get it for this, that [reason] and he’s in my office and he’s arguing with me. I’m like this guy got this, this guy got that and this is why. The conversation’s over, and I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back in my office and I said ‘dude, get your f**king hands off me.’ I could see in this guy’s face and in his eyes and the way he’s acting who this guy really f**king is.”
Other Francis Ngannou allegations surface
White went on to state that he wanted cut Ngannou from the UFC roster early into his tenure but didn't after conversations with UFC matchmakers. He also claims Ngannou got physical with another key figure in UFC, recounting an incident with chief business officer Hunter Campbell.
“My guy Hunter [Campbell], they were talking about something, it might have even been that same thing [about the bonus],” White added.
“And when Hunter started to walk away, Francis grabbed him by the f*cking back of his collar and f*cking pulled him back and said ‘we’re not done talking yet.’ This guy’s not a good f*cking guy. He’s a bad guy.”
Following on from White's remarks, Ant Evans, a former UFC employee described "Ngannou" as a "terror" in the UFC office.
He claimed that the 39-year-old made staff "very uncomfortable" with his behaviour and that he "struck me as a bully".
"Francis was a terror at the UFC office when I worked there," Evans wrote on X.
"He'd show up over and over, walk around the offices, standing over people's desks and making staff very uncomfortable.
"Now, some of it was he is a huge man from a different culture speaking English as a (third?) language. And there is such a thing as being pro-active. And there's also bullying. He struck me as a bully."
White slammed talk of a language barrier being the cause of Ngannou's approach, stating, "There’s no f**king language barrier with this guy" and again calling him a "bad guy".
SPORTbible has approached Francis Ngannou's representatives for comment.
Topics: UFC, Dana White, Francis Ngannou
Josh Lawless