DANA WHITE has insisted that Francis Ngannou will “never be in the UFC again” after he snubbed millions to box.
The 36-year-old was the UFC heavyweight champion having unified the division with his unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022.
AFPFrancis Ngannou vacated the UFC title after failing to agree a new deal[/caption]
AFPDana White has closed the door on him ever returning to the octagon[/caption]
However, he opted to vacate the belt when his contract with the MMA promotion expired and he failed to agree to a new deal.
Having been heavily linked with a bumper showdown against WBC boxing champ Tyson Fury, ‘The Predator’ wanted the ability to negotiate boxing bouts as part of any new package.
But that demand and his financial ones were turned down by UFC president White which has left the Cameroonian-French powerhouse a free agent.
Ngannou has been in talks for an MMA return under the PFL banner as well as a two-fight deal to face Deontay Wilder in the boxing ring.
UFC legend Chael Sonnen is among those that have called for Ngannou and White to bury the hatchet in order to get him back in the octagon.
However, White has claimed Ngannou will never set foot in the UFC octagon again during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
He said: “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.
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“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.”