Francis Ngannou pulled off arguably the greatest victory of his career by defeating Cyril Gane at UFC 270, but fans were confused as to why the company’s president Dana White wasn’t present at the end of the fight.
Ngannou won the highly-anticipated fight by primarily utilising his wrestling skills. Although he lost out in the opening two rounds, the Cameroonian quickly grew into proceedings and began to dominate.
He completed five rounds for just the second time in his UFC career and won by unanimous decision.
Read: Francis Ngannou makes emotional admission after stunning UFC 270 triumph
The 35-year-old revealed after the fight that he had torn the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee just three weeks previously. That made the victory even more impressive.
However, despite a massive show of courage and determination, UFC president Dana White did not place the belt on Francis Ngannou, as is usually customary after a title fight.
What has happened between Dana White, UFC and Francis Ngannou?
The relationship between Ngannou and the UFC has been complex for several months.
Ngannou earned $600,000 from his UFC 270 victory – a minuscule amount compared to what top boxers take home from their bouts. Tyson Fury, for instance, netted $30 million for his victory over Deontay Wilder last year.
The UFC heavyweight champion told ESPN that he would refuse to fight for his current salary again.
Ngannou then told Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour that the UFC is suing him for talking to Jake Paul‘s manager about boxing. Understandably, tensions between Francis Ngannou and the UFC are high. For his part, White explained that he and Ngannou had a “good talk” in December.
When asked in a post-fight press conference about White’s failure to place the belt on him at UFC 270, the Cameroonian replied: “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him. No, I did not have anything to do about that. I think that was their decision. I was about to ask about that too.
“He didn’t come to the press conference? Ah, well, I didn’t know that. Well, it’s been a long time that I’ve been wondering about my future in the company, so … nothing has changed, I’m still in the same position.”
Dana White finally explains UFC 270 absence
After days of questions about where he was at UFC 270, Dana White has finally given an explanation.
He told ESPN‘s Laura Sanko: “I wasn’t out there for the main event. I actually walked from the arena right after the co-main event, because there was stuff going on backstage that I was dealing with.
“You know, for anybody who thinks I was showing any type of disrespect towards Francis. I saw Francis all week, you idiots. I shook his hand, I said ‘hi’ to him, I was out there for the staredowns. The whole thing.
“So for anybody to think that there was disrespect towards Francis … I wasn’t out there for Michael Bisping’s [Luke] Brockhole fight either because I was dealing with some stuff … I couldn’t make it out there to put the belt on Francis.
“There’s only been one time I walked out on a fight. I made it clear. I walked up to the press conference and said, ‘This is exactly why I left’. There’s the answer.”
Whether White’s explanation placates UFC fans is unclear. But the saga will surely do nothing to ease their concerns about Ngannou never fighting for the company again.
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