- Dana White brutally criticized Francis Ngannou and PFL for sealing a deal that apparently doesn’t make sense
- The UFC boss is convinced “The Predator” is avoiding Jon Jones because he doesn’t want to risk everything he got at this point
UFC president Dana White did not hold back in sharing his take on the recently closed deal between Francis Ngannou and PFL. White reiterated that PFL didn’t make a wise decision in agreeing to Ngannou’s terms, while also pointing out that “The Predator” clearly doesn’t want to fight Jon Jones.
The UFC is all about great fights
Speaking to reporters in his UFC Vegas 73 presser, White took a jab at both Ngannou and PFL, stressing how the UFC’s rival promotion was on the losing end of the deal.
“Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me. I mean, you’re going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it’s already been like 18 months. He’s fought three times in the last three years.It’s just not what we do here. It’s not what we do. And the day that we released him, I knew exactly what was gonna happen,” White said.
The UFC boss then mentioned the botched Ngannou vs. Jones title fight once again. For White, Ngannou wasn’t scared of “Bones” but he knew it was a big risk that he never wanted to take.
“Francis wants to take zero risks, he doesn’t want to take any chances. Obviously, didn’t want to take a chance with Jon Jones. And after we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane, I don’t blame him. I think the outcome would’ve been exactly the same, and I’m sure most of you do and I’m sure Francis does too,” White added.
“And the media makes it sound like that I’m saying that he’s afraid of him [Jones]. I don’t think that he’s afraid of anybody. It’s just the fact that he doesn’t want to take any risk,” he continued.
PFL was Wrong in Joining Ngannou in His Circus Boxing Escapade
Aside from a title fight with Jones, it can be recalled that Ngannou was also linked to a boxing match with Tyson Fury. Upon signing with PFL, the Cameroonian insisted that his plan to enter boxing is still on, something White blatantly criticized.
“PFL is going to pay this guy to train for a boxing match that may not even happen and that they might not even be involved in. How does that make any sense? It doesn’t make sense to me,” White exclaimed. “Anthony Joshua called it a gimmick fight this week. When asked about that fight, he’s like, ‘I’m focused on fighting the best guys in the world. I’m not interested in a gimmick fight right now.’ And that’s one of the big problems with boxing right now. It’s all about these gimmicky type fights, and that’s just not what I do here. It’s not what I do. I put on fights with the best fighters in the world and fights that people want to see.”
White concluded that at this point, Ngannou thinks he has the leverage to pull off a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather type of deal but the truth is, he doesn’t.
“Francis could’ve done a deal here. Hunter [Campbell] threw the kitchen sink at that guy. Hunter went to more dinners with Francis Ngannou and did everything in his power to try to get this fight done, and you know, Francis just thinks that he’s in a position where he’s got some Conor McGregor-Mayweather fight on his hands, which, he does not,” the UFC boss added.
“That fight was a once-in-a-lifetime type deal, a fight that I wasn’t very interested in, but at the end of the day it became so big, the right guys, the right time, the right place, the fans wanted it, so we did it and we got it done. MMA guys vs. boxers doesn’t make any sense to me, but I know that he thinks there’s all this money in it. I disagree,” he continued.
Ngannou made it clear that he wants to do boxing first and possibly make his PFL debut next year. Though a bit farfetched, “The Predator” said he still hopes a fight with Jones could happen in the future.
