Francis Ngannou spills more information about his ongoing rift with the UFC.
Francis Ngannou may have retained the UFC heavyweight title on Saturday, but his victory didn’t seem to get enough luster as it should. For one, UFC president Dana White didn’t wrap the belt around his waist and ditched the post-fight presser, raising more questions about their professional dealings.
On Monday afternoon, “The Predator” appeared on The MMA Hour to spill more details. The first revelation was about a text message his manager received during the morning of fight day.
“On the Saturday morning, my manager received an anonymous message that was very weird,” Ngannou said. “We didn’t know from who was that, but that message was very weird, very racist, insulting.”
Martin went on to post a screenshot of the said message, which came from a cellphone number with a 702 Las Vegas area code.
Ngannou also claimed that his team received an email from the UFC threatening legal action for supposedly communicating with Jake Paul’s team about a boxing opportunity.
“Going into the arena, I dress up and I put my suit and I walked to the room waiting for my manager and my coach,” he recalled. “And they were, like, ‘Wow.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ They told me that they just received an email from the UFC saying they’re gonna sue him for talking with this guy (Nakisa Bidarian). And I’m like, ‘Who is Nakisa?’
“They were telling me, ‘I don’t know him, pretty much, but (he’s) somebody from Jake Paul’s team. And I’m like, ‘Is it a promoter or something?’ They were, like, ‘No.’ So it doesn’t look like (the UFC) wants to talk to me anymore.
“I think somebody is very pissed off, which means we have been doing the right thing.”
A month ago, UFC president Dana White said he had a “good talk” with the champ over dinner. Ngannou confirmed the random run-in with the boss but said no business was discussed.
“We met at dinner and it was a coincidence. We had a good talk, like, personal-wise,” he said. “We didn’t get any business involved because we both know that our business situation is not really good. We just talked personally, respectfully, and that was it.”
Ngannou says the issues with the UFC is more than just the money, and that all he wants is to be treated right. His fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 was the final fight in his current deal and he says his contract situation remains uncertain.