Dana White says he can't guarantee Ngannou and Benavidez a title shot

D. White at a press conference. Photo: Reproduction/Youtube ufc

Ultimate's president, Dana White, tried to calm things down when it came to a title shot for Francis Ngannou (heavy) and Joseph Benavidez (flies), who won their commitments last Saturday (29), by UFC Minneapolis. In a press conference after the event, the president praised the performances, but stated that there are other factors that influence the scheduling of a title fight.

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“The fight between (Daniel) Cormier and (Stipe) Miocic has to happen first. The two have to face each other. We have to see who will win, how they will get out of the fight and what Daniel wants to do, if he wins. So, there is a lot involved in who will be next”, explained Dana.

The question about the future challenger for the heavyweight title (up to 120,2kg.) comes after another excellent performance by the French-Cameroonian, Francis Ngannou, after defeating the Brazilian and former category champion, Junior Gypsy, in a fight that lasted less than two minutes. With the triumph, Francis achieved his third positive result in a row, in addition to remaining in second place in the category ranking, behind only Miocic and Cormier.

Another athlete who performed this weekend was the flyweight (up to 56,7kg.) Joseph Benavidez. The North American faced Jussier formiga in the fight that marked the meeting between the first (Formiga) and the second in the ranking (Josepeh) in the division. Even though there was no clear promise of a title fight for the winner, everything indicated that the athlete who performed better could challenge Henry Cejudo (also bantamweight champion) in the future. On the subject, White also expressed his opinion.

“The situation is not good for Benavidez. He'll have to wait a long time, but I know Cejudo will want to defend his featherweight title first (before returning to bantamweight). He (Joseph) performed well today. He had a scare in the first round, had two deep cuts, but continued with his strategy.

According to the president, Francis will have to wait for the outcome of the fight between Miocic and Cormier, which takes place on August 17, at UFC 241, to finally find out the next step he will take in his career.

Joseph, in turn, will need to wait for his recovery. Henry Cejudo, who recently underwent shoulder surgery and is only expected to return to the Octagon in 2020.

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