Israel Adesanya does not believe we have seen the last of Francis Ngannou inside the Octagon.
‘The Predator’ walked away from the UFC in January after nearly two years of failed negotiations. Last month, the former heavyweight champion revealed that he had signed a ground-breaking deal with the Professional Fighters League, scoring himself a big bag of cash and the role of chairman for the PFL’s expansion into Africa.
Following the announcement, Dana White was very critical of both Ngannou and the PFL. “Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me,” White said at a post-fight press event. “You’re going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it’s already been like [14] months. He’s fought three times in the last three years.” White has also insisted on more than one occasion that Francis Ngannou will never see inside the Octagon again after the promotion courted him for months to no avail.
“We negotiated with him for years,” White said when asked if a Ngannou return was possible. “It’s over, that’s over. He’ll never be in the UFC again. … I never say never, but I’ll give you a never on that one. We tried.”
‘Stylebender’ Says We Haven’t Seen the Last of Francis Ngannou Inside the Octagon
Israel Adesanya isn’t buying it.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, ‘The Last Stylebender’ insisted that the story between Ngannou and the UFC is far from over and believes ‘The Predator’ will return to the Octagon one day despite White’s insistence.
“I’m proud of him because his story is very unique, even before he was in the UFC,” Adesanya said of Ngannou. “The story’s not over yet, everybody needs to chill and just watch…everyone wants to be first…this isn’t a guy that just quits. Dana’s said some stuff in the past [about women never fighting in the UFC]…look where we are now! I think he’ll do what he does and come back, and then they’ll pay him what he deserves, what he’s earned, because they f***ed him for a long time” (h/t MMA News).
There is rarely an instance where Dana White has said no to something and stuck to his guns with the exception of Paul Daley. He stayed true to his word on that subject, but Daley is no Ngannou. Should ‘The Predator’ go and make some massive waves in the PFL, it’s likely that the UFC will circle back around when it’s contract time and offer Ngannou a massive payday for the fight everyone in the world wants to see.