Dana White Admits He Wanted Ngannou to Lose at UFC 270
Dana White has never pretended to be neutral, but this one still lands with a jolt.
The UFC president has revealed he was openly rooting against Francis Ngannou when the then-heavyweight champion defended his belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022.
Ngannou, fighting on a damaged knee and in the final bout of his UFC contract, walked into that main event with the promotion locked in a bitter standoff over his future. He walked out with a unanimous decision win, the undisputed title, and a relationship with his boss that was effectively beyond repair.
White, speaking to Big Boy, didn’t bother to dress it up.
Asked when he last wanted a UFC fighter to lose, he went straight to the former champion.
“A guy that I wanted to lose… it would have to be Francis Ngannou,” White said. “Damn right I wanted Ngannou to lose.”
No attempt at diplomacy. No softening the edges. Just confirmation of what had long been suspected during that tense build-up in Anaheim: the promoter was pulling for Gane.
White vs. Ngannou: Bad Blood, Plainly Stated
The animosity is no secret. White has repeatedly made it clear he does not like working with Ngannou, and this week he went even further, branding the former champion “a bad guy” and putting him in the same category as Oscar De La Hoya on his personal blacklist.
“Ngannou is on my Oscar De La Hoya list,” White said. “Look at the history of Francis Ngannou and the other companies he's been with. He's a bad guy, man. He's a bad guy, and I'm at a point in my life where I just don't want to do business with bad guys, you know what I mean? I just don't.”
It’s a striking stance toward a man who once headlined UFC cards, delivered highlight-reel knockouts, and carried the heavyweight belt. The subtext is gone now; White is saying the quiet part out loud. He didn’t just clash with Ngannou behind closed doors. He actively wanted him beaten when the title was on the line.
Ngannou, for now, has chosen not to trade barbs. He has largely taken the high road in response to White’s latest outburst, staying quiet publicly while the UFC president continues to revisit a fighter who no longer competes under his banner. That silence may not last, especially after White openly admitted he wanted him to lose to Gane, but at this stage, the feud feels lopsided: one side keeps talking, the other keeps moving on.
A Rift That Outlived the Contract
The fallout from UFC 270 shaped the heavyweight division and the promotion’s public image. Ngannou’s decision win over Gane, built on wrestling and control rather than his trademark knockouts, secured his title but did nothing to mend relations with the UFC hierarchy. The contract dispute dragged on, Ngannou eventually walked, and he is no longer a UFC fighter.
Yet his name still lingers in White’s interviews.
The UFC president says he has “washed his hands” of Ngannou, but his comments keep pulling the former champion back into the conversation. Every fresh jab only underlines how raw the split remains, long after Ngannou exited and carved out his own path away from the Octagon.
Time to Look at the Heavyweights Still in the Room
While White revisits old grudges, the current heavyweight picture inside the UFC sits in an awkward place. The division’s champion, Tom Aspinall, has not set foot in the Octagon for nearly a year. The belt is active, but the throne feels empty.
The promotion has a powerful narrative sitting right in front of it: a talented, dynamic heavyweight champion waiting for his next defining test. That is where the energy should be. That is where the spotlight belongs.
Ngannou is gone. The UFC era with him is over. The question now is whether White will finally let the rivalry go with it, or keep shadowboxing a man who’s already left his cage behind.
