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Dana White: Ngannou Is 'Full of S***' & PFL Pray for His Downfall

Dana White rebuts Francis Ngannou's claims that the UFC owe him money.

Zain Bando

White (MMA Fighting) / Ngannou (Alamy)

It appears UFC CEO Dana White and ex-UFC-turned-PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou aren't on good terms.

According to White, the relationship is beyond repair. At the UFC 308 post-fight press conference, he revealed some of the events that led to their ongoing conflict.

Francis Ngannou Dana White
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Ngannou ignited the fire earlier this week, citing the UFC owes him back pay money from the end of his stint as champion. White firmly denied Ngannou's comments Saturday evening upon them being read.

Dana White: Only One Praying for Ngannou's Downfall Is the PFL

"Yeah, when have you ever heard a story, in all the years we've [the UFC] have been in business, even when it was upside down, where we owed somebody money?" White asked. "[It] never happened. So, he's full of s*** there. Then, I lost? I didn't lose anything. ... Actually, he owes me money cause we had to watch [Nagnnou vs. Derrick Lewis]. He should actually pay me back for that fight, and all of you [the media]."

White didn't stop there. He re-emphasized his claim that Ngannou would have made more money in the UFC than his eventual decision to sign with the PFL.

"Me praying for his [downfall]?" White asked. "Trust me, I don't think about Francis that much. You guys asked me the question about the PFL and I responded. Other than that, who's praying for his demise is probably the PFL, cause they signed a s******y contract with a guy that doesn't pull any numbers and ticket sales or pay-per-views. And they gotta keep paying this guy for however long, and good for him. Not good for them."

Ngannou went onto box twice before returning to MMA last Saturday, winning the PFL Super Fight championship against Renan Ferreira.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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