Dana White shuts down future UFC return for Francis Ngannou: ‘He’s absolutely impossible to deal with’
UFC president, Dana White has shut down rumors and calls of a potential comeback to the organization for former undisputed heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou – claming the Batié knockout artist is “impossible” to deal with.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the promotion, departed the UFC back in January of this year following the completion of his contractual obligations in December of last year.
The Cameroonian had most recently featured in the main event of UFC 270 back in January of last year against then-interim champion, Ciryl Gane successfully unifying the titles in a unanimous decision victory over the Frenchman in Anaheim, California.
Departing the promotion following his stripping of his undisputed champion status in January, and removal from the official heavyweight rankings, Ngannou has yet to return to combat sports since his departure.
Linked with a slew of potential boxing matches against the likes of former champions, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder – decorated Tiger Muay Thai coach, John Hutchinson linked the Cameroonian with a move to Singapore promotion, ONE Championship earlier this week.
Dana White shuts door on future UFC comeback for Francis Ngannou
However, the likes of former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, and former title challenger, Chael Sonnen have urged Ngannou to explore a potential cap-in-hand return to the UFC for Ngannou – a suggestion White himself has axed.
“No,” Dana White said of a UFC return for Francis Ngannou on The Pat McAfee Show. “We worked with this guy [Francis Ngannou] for two years, we tried to get him a fight. He’s absolutely impossible to deal with. He’s – no, he’ll never be in the UFC again.”
“So, he made his decision – we worked hard, man,” White continued. “One of my guys, Hunter Campbell [Chief Business Officer], who works for me, must have done 75 dinners with his guy [Ngannou], trying to get him on board. We offered him a lot of money, showed him nothing but respect. We wanted to keep him, and that ship has sailed.”
A revered knockout artist, Ngannou minted himself as the undisputed heavyweight titleholder in a stunning rematch win over Stipe Miocic – finishing the Ohio veteran with a thunderous second round KO at the UFC Apex facility in March 2021.
