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Dana White disputes the idea that Francis Ngannou made more money in boxing than he would have in the UFC.

Over the past few years, one of the biggest stories in combat sports has been Ngannou’s departure from the UFC to move to the PFL and pursue boxing. Though Ngannou had many reasons for leaving the promotion, one of the biggest was his claim that he would make more money in boxing than he would with the UFC.

But Dana White refutes this claim.

On Tuesday, the UFC CEO spoke with Kevin Iole where he unloaded on the notion that Ngannou made more in boxing than in the UFC, saying that the idea of money in boxing is “a myth.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” White said. “That’s the bullshit publicly that people believe, but that’s not the truth. Total bullshit. Total bullshit.

“That’s that whole myth that makes everybody go, ‘Oh, let’s f*cking go to boxing!’ and all this bullshit. Boxing don’t work. Boxing does not work. What makes it work? You need a Saudi f*cking trillionaire to make f*cking fights. And even Saudi trillionaires get tired of the f*cking bullshit. It’s all a f*cking myth. It’s all a myth.

“Like the whole statement you just made is absolutely positively not true. It’s those types of f*cking statements and those type of quotes by the media that makes all this shit. All these fights are happening, it takes a Saudi f*cking trillionaire. Every f*cking guy that tries to do the boxing thing, they all end up losing shit-loads of f*cking money. The model doesn’t work. A Saudi unlimited amount of money pops up and that’s what makes these fights happen, and even guys with that kind of money get f*cking tired of the bullshit.”

Over the past few years, Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, has invested heavily in boxing, including bankrolling Ngannou’s boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua which reportedly netted Ngannou $ 30 million between the two fights. That’s a considerable sum more than the $ 8 million Ngannou claimed the UFC offered him to fight Jon Jones, but when speaking with reporters following the latest episode of Contender Series, White reiterated his denial.

“I know all the shit that you people don’t know, and I don’t care what everybody says,” White told reporters. “It doesn’t matter to me. But that’s a fact. He was offered more money, because I know the real numbers.”

Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to MMA later this month when he faces PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants which takes place on Oct. 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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PFL has released a new trailer for the MMA return of Francis Ngannou.

The former UFC heavyweight champion competes in the cage for the first time in nearly three years as he faces Renan Ferreira in the main event of the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view event Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia.

Check out the Godzilla-style trailer for the fight below.

Ngannou’s most recent MMA fight took place at UFC 270 in January 2022 where he defeated Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision to retain his title. “The Predator” would enter free agency and elected to vacate the title, leave the UFC and sign with the PFL. After signing with his new promotion, Ngannou entered the boxing world, losing a close split decision to Tyson Fury in October 2023, and then suffering a brutal knockout against Anthony Joshua in March.

Ferreira enters the toughest fight of his career on a four-fight win streak, including a 21 second finish of current Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader at PFL vs. Bellator in February.

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On the second episode of UFC 307 Embedded, Khalil Rountree Jr. trains with the youth, Julianna Peña trains with UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, Kayla Harrison goes hiking, Roman Dolidze spars, Stephen Thompson plays disc golf, Alex Pereira goes to Oktoberfest, and more.

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Alexander Munoz is making the tough decision to hang up his UFC gloves.

The lightweight competitor announced Monday via social media he is stepping away from competition due to an accumulation of injuries.

See Munoz’s message to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby below.

Munoz, 34, was victorious in his most recent fight, scoring a unanimous decision win over Carl Deaton III at a UFC APEX event on July 15, 2023. It was his first win in the UFC after back-to-back defeats to Luis Pena and Nasrat Haqparast.

After expressing his gratitude to Shelby, UFC CEO Dana White, and the organization, Munoz went in to detail on his reasons for retirement.

“In the past six years, I’ve endured multiple injuries that have tested me both mentally and physically,” Munoz wrote. “These included but certainly weren’t limited to two full knee reconstructions on my left knee, a torn PCL in my right knee and, more recently, two weeks before my last fight I suffered a tear in my right elbow, a separated AC joint in my right shoulder, and I tore 75 percent of my lat all at once during a sparring accident as I prepared for my last fight.

“Despite this, I didn’t pull out and fought through these challenges, throwing punches only with my left hand, I was grateful to secure a win. Shortly after recovering from those injuries, I suffered two additional tears in my knee while sparring.”

Though Munoz didn’t expressly say he is retiring for good, given the extent of his injuries and he and his wife’s plans to start a family it’s safe to assume Munoz won’t be making any more walks to the cage.

Munoz closed his statement saying he’d like to free up a spot for another fighter to have the chance to prove themselves.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I have decided to step away from the UFC roster,” Munoz wrote. “I want to give the next guy his chance while I still have the ability to enjoy a healthy future with my family.”

In addition to his three UFC appearances, Munoz is perhaps best remembered for his 2018 Contender Series appearance, where he won a unanimous decision over one-handed fighter Nick Newell. He was just the second fighter to defeat Newell in 16 pro bouts at the time.

Munoz’s pro career record sits at 7-2.

Read more from Munoz’s Instagram caption below.

“The last 30 years of competition have taught me more than I ever could have imagined. The highs, the lows, the victories, and the setbacks—all of it has shaped me into the person I am today. I’m incredibly grateful for the knowledge I’ve gained along the way, and even more grateful for the opportunity to pass it on to the next generation.

“It’s time to give back, to share what I’ve learned, and to help others on their own journeys. Thanks for all the love and support along the way.”

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Michael Bisping says a thief tried to steal his wife Rebecca’s purse while vacationing in Paris.

The former UFC middleweight champion and color commentator says he was eating breakfast with his wife when someone ran up and stole Rebecca’s bag, before trying to take off. Bisping says ended up catching the individual, and explained what happened.

Check out Bisping’s wild story in the video below.

“I chase after him, get a hold of him, he had the bag already hidden like a towel,” Bisping said. “Got the bag off him. He didn’t speak a word of English, obviously. Didn’t do anything to him, got the bag back. He was shitting his pants, poor guy. … Anyway, I let him go, turned around, boom, just gave him a nice kick up the ass.”

Bisping remained in Paris after calling the action of this past Saturday’s UFC Paris fight card, capped off by Renato Moicano’s second-round TKO win over Benoit Saint Denis.

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If Israel Adesanya had his way, he’ll be fighting sooner rather than later.

The former middleweight champion returned after nearly a year layoff in August at UFC 305 in Perth, where he was submitted by Dricus du Plessis in the fourth round. “The Last Stylebender” has now lost two straight, and three of four, but none of that seems to matter. Adesanya is enjoying himself as a fighter, and wants to keep having fun, competitive battles. In fact, Adesanya says he’d be willing to fight again before the end of the year.

“Even though I don’t have the belt, they still got my name in their mouth,” Adesanya said on The Adam Carolla Show. “I’m still Israel Adesanya. For me, I’ll let them call me out, or whatever. At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year, or early next year. But I don’t know yet. I’m just training, building off where we left off, and I’ll get the call at some point with a few options. I’m sure Dana [White] will hit me up at some point.”

Adesanya was one of the most active champions in UFC history during his title run, but would eventually drop the middleweight belt to longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022. Five months later, Adesanya regained the belt with the 2023 Knockout of the Year against Pereira at UFC 287.

The reign didn’t last long as Sean Strickland stunned the MMA community with a lopsided decision victory at UFC 293 in September 2023, a result that led to Adesanya taking a step back from competition.

He returned against rival du Plessis, and while Adesanya was competitive, it didn’t go his way, and moments before the finishing sequence from du Plessis is where Adesanya believes it all slipped away.

“It was just a moment in the fight where, it was my footwork,” Adesanya explained. “I did something and I slipped. And then I pointed to the ground and was like, ‘It wasn’t you, it was the ground,’ and in that moment, I shouldn’t have pointed to the ground. … He jumped on that.

“Look, this is the game. I messed up, my bad, but I wasn’t really attached to the outcome. I just wanted to show off. I wanted to actually be in a fight, and it was a good fight. I enjoyed myself.”

Adesanya is taking the loss in stride, and it has only enhanced his hunger to get back in the octagon.

“I can’t wait to do it again,” Adesanya said. “Against who? We’ll find out.”

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Khabib Nurmagomedov remains steadfast that he’s fought his final fight.

The retired former UFC lightweight champion called it a career after stopping Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, ending his career with the 155-pound title, and an undefeated record to boot.

On a recent trip to Indonesia, Nurmagomedov was asked during an interview if he would ever consider returning to the octagon.

“There is no chance,” Nurmagomedov told Indonesian outlet iNews. “Not even one percent [chance], minus [percentage].”

Of course, Nurmagomedov is still in the MMA space as he’s coaching a slew of talented fighters — including now-UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, along with Bellator lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov, likely No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, and more.

Because of that, Nurmagomedov says his legacy will live on as the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow and evolve.

“If you guys need champions, I’m helping my brothers to become champions,” Nurmagomedov said. “We have Islam, champion. We have Umar, next contender. We have Usman champion [in Bellator].

“We have a lot of champions. You guys [are] never going to miss me because in our team, in our gym, we create champions. You guys [are] going to [always have] champion [from our team], don’t worry about this.”

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Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree meet in the light heavyweight championship main event this Saturday at UFC 307, a fight that very few in the MMA community saw coming.

Watch MMA Fighting’s UFC 307 Timeline video for an in-depth look at how both headliners got to this weekend’s pay-per-view in Salt Lake City.

“Poatan” became the UFC middleweight champion in short order after stopping long-standing rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 in November 2022. After Adesanya exacted revenge five months later at UFC 287, Pereira’s journey led to the light heavyweight division, where he captured his second divisional title two fights later. His reign extended into an unforgettable 2024 campaign, where he saved the UFC to earn knockout wins on the massive UFC 300 and UFC 303 events.

Rountree gets his first shot at UFC gold, doing so as a sizable underdog. The 34-year-old has had a rollercoaster ride from season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, to an opportunity to pull off one of the most stunning upsets in UFC history.

Will the incredible rise of Pereira continue, or does the era of Rountree begin?

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Think you can figure out which UFC fighter we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.

We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.

We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.

Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game!

What we need from you

1. Play the game
2. Share your result in the comments and on social media
3. Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)

Today’s UFC in-5 game

Monday’s UFC in-5 game

Saturday’s UFC in-5 game

Friday’s UFC in-5 game

The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.

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Raquel Pennington has seen this before.

Back in 2015, when Ronda Rousey was one of the biggest stars in the UFC, and desperately in need of new competition, Holly Holm made her debut against Pennington to much fanfare following her Hall of Fame boxing career. Pennington actually took Holm to a split decision in that fight before “The Preacher’s Daughter” proved the hype was real when she demolished Rousey just nine months later.

As Pennington approaches her first title defense in the UFC 307 co-main event, she sees something similar happening with two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, a big free-agent signing poised to become No. 1 contender with a win over Ketlen Vieira on Saturday.

“I feel like Kayla is the new Holly,” Pennington told MMA Fighting. “Everybody’s on her hype train. Everybody else, I feel they really truly had to build themselves up. Like Amanda [Nunes] said, for her first few fights, the world was just constantly talking shit, hating on her and then she proved her damn point and she built that for her.

“You just have some athletes come in and they have that, they have the hype train, they have the fans behind them and everything else and I feel that’s what Kayla has.”

Pennington doesn’t necessarily hold any animosity towards Harrison for the attention she’s receiving, but she knows from her own career that nothing was handed to her solely on name value.

That’s one of the reasons why Pennington wasn’t keen on Harrison getting a title shot immediately after she tore through Holm back at UFC 300.

“I’ve stated it before, I’ve been in this sport for a really long time, I’ve had to work from the bottom up,” Pennington explained. “I’ve never been handed anything. It gets frustrating when you’re busting your ass and there’s athletes who all of a sudden just because they have huge hype or this, that or another and they come in and all of a sudden they get thrown to the very top.

“I was very adamant about the fact — and yeah, being a champion, I’m down to fight anybody — but I just feel as a person and for other fellow athletes who are in the position that I’ve always been in, did I think it was fair for Kayla to come in [and get a title shot]? No. Was I more set on Julianna [Peña]? Yes, because of the history and everything else.”

Pennington gets her wish as she faces Peña in the UFC 307 co-main event with Harrison sitting just two spots behind her on the card.

It’s almost certain if Harrison wins she gets a title shot and Pennington is happy that she won’t have to wait long for a new No. 1 contender to emerge after she gets through Peña on Saturday.

As much as she wishes all fighters had to truly earn their way to the top, Pennington is genuinely excited to eventually face Harrison in the cage to see if the hype is real. In fact, Pennington actually spent a big part of her training camp preparing for Harrison just in case Peña failed to show up.

“Do I love the fact that the matchup is there between Kayla and Ketlen? I absolutely do,” Pennington said. “Do I think it’s definitely a No. 1 contender fight? I do.

“Honestly we prepared for this fight, too, because Julianna has a history of getting injured that it could possibly be Kayla getting bumped up. I know she put it out there she wanted to be the backup fighter. So I prepared for two different chicks here. You need to wait your turn but with that being said, I am older, I plan on going out there and I plan on winning this fight and then after that, do I think regardless it will probably be Kayla next? I absolutely do. I would love to be the one to go out there and just shut that shit up.”

Looking back at the history of the bantamweight division in the UFC there have been a couple of distinct eras starting with Rousey’s reign and then Amanda Nunes’ emergence as arguably the greatest of all time.

Now Pennington is ready to establish a new standard with her first title defense and then hopefully add Harrison’s name to the list of fighters she wasn’t supposed to beat.

“Ronda had her journey and then Amanda came out and just completely cleared out everything and shut everybody up,” Pennington said. “What can I do?

“Well all of a sudden Kayla gets signed and it’s like cool, aside from achieving my ultimate goal, now you have another big game. I would love to shut that hype train down.”

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