Anyone shocked by the unfolding drama between UFC CEO Dana White and PFL super fight champion Francis Ngannou, who jumped ship after failed contract negotiations in early 2023, may be surprised to learn this is not the first time White has buried a top talent for refusing to play ball.
White spent years crapping on welterweight standout Ben Askren, back when the “Funky” wrestler was an undefeated top talent for promotions like Bellator MMA and ONE Championship. Not surprisingly, the narrative completely changed once Askren signed with UFC in early 2019.
“Dana spent years lying, saying I didn’t want to fight the best, I didn’t want challenges, I was running away, and that couldn’t have been further from the truth,” Askren told Daniel Cormier. “So, it sucked to have this guy … it’s essentially slander, saying things about me that I knew weren’t true. Dana has this part of his personality when he can’t get what he wants, and in that case, he didn’t offer me a contract, so he kind of got what he wanted.”
Not even this stipulation could mend fences.
“But then I think because I was continuing to have success and people were continuing to follow me, he wanted me off in a dark corner where everyone ignored me,” Askren continued. “But he’s done the same thing with [Cris] Cyborg. I believe Randy Couture had a similar experience, now Francis, but there’s this weird part of Dana’s personality where, if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he just starts crapping on people. And because he has a big microphone and he’s generally very truthful and generally correct, people just believe him.”
Except when it comes to nonsense like this.
Ngannou was able to win his contractual freedom — at great cost — and quickly found greener pastures in both MMA and boxing, despite White’s claim that dabbling in the “sweet science” was a “bad idea” and a colossal “waste of time, energy, and money.” I’m sure “The Predator” can come up with 20 million reasons why that’s not true.
Maybe it’s immaturity … or just pouting.