When recently asked about Francis Ngannou’s PFL contract, Dana White did not hold back any punches in her response. The head of the UFC brushed down the significance of the deal, which is said to make ‘The Predator’ the mixed martial arts heavyweight champion in terms of salary.
On the other hand, it does not appear that White places much importance on it. The leader of the UFC believes that it is irresponsible for the PFL to continue paying an inactive fighter like Ngannou while he plans a boxing battle in which the UFC may not be involved. During the post-fight media scrum for UFC Vgeas 73, the fighter, who is 53 years old, stated:
“From what little I do know about the business transaction, I can say that it does not make any sense to me. You’re going to pay a guy to stay out of the ring for a year, despite the fact that it’s already been like 18 months, and he’s fought three times in the last three years…PFL is going to foot the bill for this boxer’s training for a fight that may or may not take place, and PFL may or may not even be a participant in the fight. What part of that makes any kind of sense?”
Read White’s thoughts in the following:
Jed I. Goodman © Jed I. Goodman © @jedigoodman
Dana White has a conversation with Francis Ngannou. #UFC 291 35
White also asserted on multiple occasions that Francis Ngannou wanted to take “zero risks,” which was an allusion to a fight that was supposed to take place against Jon Jones but never did. White’s statements were in reference to the fact that the fight never took place. In addition, the president of the UFC indicated that ‘The Predator’ would have met the same defeat at the hands of Jones as Ciryl Gane did.