Ego? Francis Ngannou recalls the moment he decided to leave the UFC: 'I wasn't respected'

Ngannou promotes boxing match. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/francisngannou

Close to returning to MMA competition after years dedicated to boxing, Francis Ngannou It's worth remembering his controversial departure from the UFC. The fighter, who competed in the organization headed by Dana White between 2015 and 2022, chose not to renew his contract and managed to become a free agent while still the heavyweight champion (up to 120,2 kg). He is about to face... Philip Lins In the first event of its kind promoted by Netflix, the Predator talked about his former job during an appearance on the podcast of... Daniel Cormier last Wednesday (13).

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According to the Cameroonian fighter, the way the relationship was managed by the UFC made him feel undervalued by the company, motivating his decision to leave the world's biggest MMA event and move permanently to the PFL.

“I think the mistake the UFC made was getting to the point of hurting my ego. I felt I wasn’t being respected, and that was the moment I thought, ‘I’m going to get out of this contract.’ When something touches my ego, I don’t care about anything,” he stated.

Francis Ngannou says the UFC touched his ego in the wrong way and that's when he knew he wanted out of his contract 👀‼️

"I think the mistake that the UFC did was they got to the point that hit my ego. I felt like I wasn't respected, and that was the moment I was like, 'I'm… pic.twitter.com/lDuY6Rhuqb

— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) May 14, 2026

Dana White said he was threatened by Francis Ngannou.

Dana White poses next to Francis Ngannou. Photo: Reproduction/@francis_ngannou

Recently, Dana White also publicly shared his perspective on his relationship with his former employee. Surprising many viewers, the bald executive claimed he was physically threatened by the Cameroonian during a difficult negotiation in his office. Furthermore, the African executive allegedly displayed this same behavior towards other members of the team. staff.