Israel Adesanya on Francis Ngannou ‘Erased’ from UFC History: 'We Need to Fix This'

Israel Adesanya calls for action upon seeing Francis Ngannou's name edited out by the UFC.

Christopher De Santiago | Aug 14, 2024

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Israel Adesanya isn't liking the treatment that Francis Ngannou is getting now that he's no longer a UFC fighter.

UFC 305: Israel Adesanya Reacts to Dana White Revealing Next Title Challenger

Ngannou, the former heavyweight champion, was granted his UFC release in 2023 after choosing not to re-sign with the premier promotion, instead deciding on taking his career elsewhere. Following his final fight in the Octagon against Ciryl Gane, Ngannou went on to fight boxing superstars Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua back-to-back before booking his MMA return with the PFL this October.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, Ngannou's UFC exit could have gone more smoothly with UFC CEO Dana White claiming Ngannou wanted to take "zero risks," including a potential super-fight current champ Jon Jones - a fight that never materialized.

As some fans are noticing, we're starting to see less and less of the legacy Ngannou left in the UFC as Cameroon's first UFC Champion. A. Feldman on 'X' made mention of the UFC incorrectly introducing Tafon Nchukwi as the country's first fighter during one of his walk-outs as well as Ngannou's name being cut out of Israel Adesanya's promos for UFC 305 this weekend.

The first rule of UFC Fight Club: don’t mention Francis Ngannou’s name…

Here’s a look at the clip from the UFC 305 Countdown episode versus what Adesanya actually said at the UFC 305 Pre-Sale Press Conference.

It’s no surprise, but the UFC’s attempt to erase Ngannou from its… pic.twitter.com/PZpA7UAtSe
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) August 13, 2024

Longtime friends with fellow African Ngannou, Adesanya reposted the video and added some insight as to what he and others believe is happening to the ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion.

"You can never erase Francis history from the UFC," Adesanya told ESPN MMA. "I'll say that. It's part of history. We need to fix this. I don't like that. I don't like the fact we're trying to just cut out a really important part of history. It's silly. It's really silly, but we'll fix that."

"That's for later on. We'll fix that," Adesanya said.

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A post shared by Israel Adesanya (@stylebender)

For a time, it was Adesanya, Ngannou and Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman who reigned as Africa's UFC Champions, earning them the name of "The Three Kings". Now, they're down to zero with Israel Adesanya attempting to become a three-time champion with a win over Dricus Du Plessis, Africa's fourth-ever UFC Champion.

As for Francis Ngannou, he'll continue his story not in the UFC, but in the PFL where he challenges 6'8" heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19.

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