Francis Ngannou is not fazed by Dana White’s criticism of the fighter
Dana White is top-tier at bad-mouthing people he does not like. He often speaks ill about fighters that leave the UFC and now Ngannou can be added to the list. Francis Ngannou has been released by the UFC because the two could not come to terms on a contract. This situation gave White the green light to spin the UFC losing one of its biggest stars into Ngannou not wanting to be great.
White’s criticisms centered around Ngannou not wanting to fight the best competition in the world. Also, White alluded to Ngannou not having the same competitive drive as Ngannou was getting comfortable and fine with fighting lesser opponents for more money.
These criticisms did not faze Ngannou as he spoke about White’s comments on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
“Dana cannot hurt me. Saying things cannot hurt me. From where I come from, I have heard a lot worse than that.”
(Via Francis Ngannou)
This is a good sign for Ngannou as he will not be disheartened by White’s futile attempts to disparage the athlete. Francis Ngannou’s journey to becoming a world champion has been a comic book-level type of origin story. It makes sense that he is not worried about lazy insults.
“I think what he was expressing was his frustration. It doesn’t matter what he said, regardless. He’s upset. He’s not happy about this situation. He saw his champion go away.”
(Via Francis Ngannou)
I think this hits the nail on the head as losing the world heavyweight champion can not be good for business. Ngannou was a fan favorite and the UFC is losing him because he was not getting the money and the respect he deserves from the UFC.
Ngannou Vs White
Furthermore, White’s comments do not make a whole lot of sense. Why would the scariest man on the planet be worried about fighting the best competition? Francis Ngannou has defeated four former UFC Heavyweight champions and he recently fought the other best heavyweight in the world Ciryl Gane. That does not look like the track record of someone who pushes for easy matchups.
It will be interesting to see how this situation develops and where Ngannou chooses to fight. I’m sure the back and forth will continue over the next months as White will not be able to escape the constant Ngannou questions. I hope to see Ngannou in the UFC again as he is a prime-time entertainer but more than anything I want the athlete to be happy and paid.
