Francis Ngannou sheds new light on UFC exit in scathing assessment of Dana White ahead of MMA comeback

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has spoken out about his fallout with the promotion’s president, Dana White, claiming his exit was not just about money.

Ngannou was crowned UFC heavyweight champion after beating veteran Stipe Miocic in March 2021, but after just one defence of his title against Ciryl Gane the following year, the Cameroonian cut ties with the world’s premier MMA organisation in 2023.

Since then, Ngannou has embarked on a career in boxing, putting in an impressive showing against former two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury despite losing on the judges’ scorecards, before suffering a second-round knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua in 2024.

Meanwhile, his MMA career has somewhat stagnated, with the 39-year-old having just one fight — a knockout win against Renan Ferreira in PFL in 2024 — in more than four years.

But despite seeing his MMA career slow since his UFC exit, he maintains that his decision to leave the promotion was not just about money.

Speaking to Daniel Cormier ahead of his return against Philipe Lins on the undercard of Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano, Ngannou said: “It wasn’t money. I think the mistake that the UFC made was that we got to the point where I felt like they hit my ego. I felt like I wasn’t respected at that point. I think that was the moment when I was like, ‘OK, I think I’m getting out of this contract.’

“The thing is — and this is something that really worries me — when something touches my ego, I don’t care about anything. At times, I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t care if this is going to be the end of my career.’

“If this means I’m going back to Africa to farm, at least I can buy some machinery to farm. I’m going to do something. I can do something else and still make it. I think my success is not about the sport. I think it’s about my personality and how I can implement that in everything that I’m going to do. So it’s going to be my way, and I think that’s what they didn’t understand. They underestimated me and still kept coming harder and harder, wanting to pressure me. I just wasn’t the right guy to deal with in that way.”

In a separate interview with BBC Sport, Ngannou honed in on how many fighters are “scared” to look outside the UFC for alternative options, despite the promotion’s current contracts being unfair.

“The [UFC] contracts are not fair — they give all the rights to the promoter and don’t protect the fighter,” Ngannou added.

“The fighters are just an asset and they can get rid of you when they want. If you don’t fight, you don’t get paid and you have no right to do anything else.”

What has Dana White said about Francis Ngannou?

White has previously criticised Ngannou, even suggesting that he is a “bad guy” when recalling an alleged physical altercation between the pair.

Speaking in 2025, the American said: “He’s not a good guy.

“He’s going in to fight Stipe Miocic in Boston [in 2018], and he ‘knows’ he’s going to fucking kill Stipe, right? So, after the press conference, we’re walking down this hallway and he comes over to me. He grabs me and he says: ‘Let me tell you what’s going to happen [...] When this fight’s over, you’re going to book me a private plane to Paris.’ I laughed and said: ‘Oh, yeah?’ He said: ‘I’m not joking.’

“Miocic beats the fucking shit out of him, beats the shit out of him, so that ended that whole conversation. I should have fucking cut him [from his contract] that day.”

White then recalled a separate occasion when he and Ngannou were arguing in his office before the fighter supposedly got physical.

White added: “The conversation’s over, and I’m starting to leave, and he grabs me by my shirt and pushes me back into my office. I said: ‘Dude, get your fucking 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 fucking is.”