LAS VEGAS – Dana White says he had nothing to do with Francis Ngannou’s name and reference being edited out of a UFC 305 “Countdown” episode.
Israel Adesanyatook issue with Ngannou’s name being removed from an episode this past week in which a past answer about the “three kings” from Africa at a UFC 305 pre-sale news conference had Ngannou’s name wiped out. Cameroon-born Ngannou captured the UFC heavyweight title in 2021 and defended it against Ciryl Gane in 2022 before he parted ways with the promotion in a contract dispute.
White wasn’t happy with Ngannou’s departure and accused him of ducking a title fight with Jon Jones. White’s feelings toward Ngannou made many speculate that he requested the removal of Ngannou’s name during any UFC-related promotion, but the UFC CEO assures it wasn’t his idea.
“I don’t know about this,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “If that’s true, and that was done, and it was something that we produced, then somebody in the company made that decision. Listen, you know me. If I said we did it, I’d say ‘Yeah, f*ck him,’ and ‘This is why we did it.’ I know nothing about it. Nobody ever asked me about it, and this is the first we’re hearing about it.”
Adesanya said you can never erase Ngannou’s history from the UFC. White insists he has no animosity towards Ngannou, and takes accountability for his name being removed from UFC Countdown.
“My production team are a bunch of rock stars and they are truly f*cking awesome,” White told Kevin Iole after the DWCS 68 post-fight news conference. “I make it so hard on them sometimes with some of the crazy sh*t I say, and it’s tough. When you asked me about that (post-fight at DWCS 68), I didn’t know anything about it. But someone was editing that and made a conscious decision, thinking that was the right thing to do – that that’s what we would have wanted, what I would have wanted.
“I’m in charge of everything production-related, so at the end of the day, the fact that it happened falls on me 100 percent. It’s my responsibility and I accept it. Blame me for that. I put them in such a tough spot sometimes saying all this crazy sh*t, it’s hard for them. Whoever was editing it, they thought that was the right decision and did what they thought I wanted. That’s not what I wanted, and had I known that, I would have not authorized that. But that’s on me – totally on me. I already called Israel Adesanya and apologized for it.”
