MMA
Dana White broke tradition and didn’t hand the belt to the champion Ngannou! Is there a reason for their feud?
Ngannou defended his championship title, beating Ciryl Gane on points. However, Dana White didn’t come to give him the belt after the fight, which is rather surprising. Could their recent feud be to blame?
Ngannou defended his championship title, beating Ciryl Gane on points. However, Dana White didn’t come to give him the belt after the fight, which is rather surprising. Could their recent feud be to blame?
Francis Ngannou proved it! The bookmakers didn’t consider him a favorite, but thanks to his quality ground work, he was able to defeat the powerful Ciryl Gane.
He fought off an injury that had him considering not taking the fight, but he bit the bullet and was able to defend his championship.
However, the public and the fighter were surprised that Dana White did not put the belt on him as is tradition, and he did not attend the press conference afterwards.
Ngannou said he didn’t know why that was the case either, adding that reporters should rather ask White himself. That will surely happen in the future.
What could be the reason that White made that decision? It is probably due to their disagreements, as Ngannou claims he deserves a higher salary.
“I know the UFC wants to keep me and I would like to stay in the UFC myself, but I repeat myself, without resolving my financial situation, it’s not going to happen,” he said recently in an interview with ESPN.
“I’m not going to fight for some $500,000 or $600,000 anymore, those days are long gone. I deserve much, much more. I want to make sure the organization values my qualities,” he added.
Source: ESPN, The Sun