Kamaru Usman doesn’t believe the story about his friend Francis Ngannou putting his hands on Dana White during a meeting – at least how the UFC CEO told it.
White recently told a story on a podcast that things got physical between him and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou during a meeting. According to White, Ngannou grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him back into his office, and then did the same to UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell. White said Ngannou was upset he didn’t receive a Fight of the Night bonus after a win.
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“Listen, I wasn’t there, but I don’t think this happened like this,” Usman said on “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with co-host Henry Cejudo.
Usman’s train of thought was interrupted by Cejudo, who asked if he was calling White a liar.
“Did I say that? No, absolutely not,” Usman responded. “All I’m saying is, it’s hard to believe to go to Dana White, ‘Get back in your office Dana, you’re not the – what? Get out your checkbook. Give me $50K.’ And then, ‘Oh Hunter, you leaving? Get back here Hunter. We’re not done talking.’
“It’s hard because that’s the picture that we’re really seeing in our head here. It’s hard to believe that, because listen, it’s Dana White here. Dana, just like Francis has this – this aura around Francis, to where you just know, OK, I can’t f*ck around here. I got to be on my Ps and Qs. He has that aura, but in just that sense, because Francis is a fighter and he has that scary aura, Dana White has a different aura as well, because Dana White’s the head of the UFC. Dana White’s this guy. So, everybody moving around Dana White, hey, you’re gonna know, hey, I gotta conduct myself accordingly so here.”
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Usman was part of the African “three kings” when he, Ngannou, and Israel Adesanya all held UFC titles at the same time. Ngannou has also shown support for Usman throughout his career, and even appeared on stage for ceremonial weigh-ins for his most recent fight against Joaquin Buckley in June, despite falling out with the promotion after signing with PFL.
Simply put, Usman isn’t buying White’s telling of the alleged incident in the UFC boss’ office.
“I find that a little hard to believe,” Usman said. “I’m not saying that’s false. I’m just saying it might not have went down the way that quote sounded like, and it made us kind of think about the situation.”
Ngannou has not yet publicly commented on the situation.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman isn’t buying Dana White’s Francis Ngannou altercation
