Israel Adesanya and Dana White. Photo: USA Today and YouTube
Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently claimed that the UFC tried to erase Francis Ngannou’s legacy after it appeared to distance itself from the former heavyweight champion. Adesanya took issue with Ngannou being edited out of a UFC 305 “Countdown” episode.
“You can’t erase Francis’ legacy in the UFC, it’s part of what we’ve done. I know he fights for the PFL now but it’s history – trying not to talk about it is silly,” Adesanya said.
At a recent press conference, UFC CEO Dana White responded to the accusation.
“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,” White said. “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.”
Dana White was not happy with Francis Ngannou leaving
Back in 2022, Dana White wasn’t happy with Ngannou’s decision to depart and accused him of ducking a title fight with Jon Jones.
After the departure, Ngannou turned to pro boxing and fought both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He is expected to return to MMA later this year.