UFC CEO Dana White apologizes for erasing Francis Ngannou reference from Israel Adesanya quote in clip
UFC CEO Dana White and former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou have been at loggerheads ever since Ngannou was under contract and holding the promotion’s title. Since Ngannou left the promotion following a contract dispute, the UFC has been accused of attempting to remove him from its history books, most recently when Israel Adesanya’s press conference comments were edited into the UFC 305 “Countdown” episode Remove Ngannou’s name,
Speaking to the media following Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, White took responsibility for the edits and said they shouldn’t have happened.
“I have a lot of rock stars on my production team and they’re really amazing,” White said. “I sometimes make things difficult for them by doing some crazy things, and that’s tough. When you asked me about it, I didn’t know anything about it. But somebody was editing it and made a conscious decision thinking that was the right thing to do — that this is what we wanted, this is what I wanted.
“I’m in charge of everything related to the production, so at the end of the day, the fact that this happened falls 100 percent on me. It’s my responsibility and I accept it. Blame me for it. I give them a hard time sometimes by saying all these crazy things, it’s very difficult for them. Whoever was editing it thought it was the right decision and they did what they thought I wanted. I didn’t want it to happen, and if I knew it, I wouldn’t have allowed it to happen. But it’s my responsibility — all mine. I’ve already called Israel Adesanya and apologized for it.”
When negotiations for a new contract failed, Ngannou kept the promotion’s title. Ngannou was looking for more money and the opportunity to pursue outside endeavors such as boxing matches. The UFC eventually released Ngannou and waived the contractual waiting period for a fighter to negotiate with other promotions.
Ngannou signed with the PFL but has yet to fight for the promotion. Instead, he made a lot of money in boxing matches with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Ngannou shocked the boxing world by knocking Fury down and losing by a narrow split decision before suffering a brutal knockout from Joshua.
He is now set to take on Renan Ferreira in a PFL Superfight on October 19.
In August 2023, a UFC graphic for Tafon Nchukwi during a Fight Night card labeled Nchukwi as “the only Cameroonian fighter in UFC history.” Cameroon-born fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou fought in the UFC from 2007 to 2008. Ngananu is also from Cameroon and fought in the UFC for nearly eight years.
