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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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Return in 2025
| BJPenn.com

“Eat what you kill!” — Dana White

Fake news!

Francis Ngannou will make his highly anticipated return to mixed martial arts (MMA) later this month (Oct. 19, 2024) against Brazilian giant, Renan Ferreira, headlining PFL Super Fights: “Battle of the Giants,” which will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion will take a break from boxing after getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua earlier this year (watch highlights).

UFC CEO, Dana White, was asked about his former Heavyweight champion’s foray into professional boxing and the massive “life changing” multi-million paydays he has earned, comparing it to if he had stayed with UFC.

“That’s not necessarily true,” White told Kevin Iole. “It’s not really true. That’s the bulls—t that the public believes, but that’s not the truth. Total bulls—t. That’s that whole myth that makes everyone go, ‘ahh, lets f—king go to boxing’. It’s f—king bulls—t. Boxing don’t work. Boxing doesn’t f—king work … it takes a f—king Saudi trillionaire to make boxing work.”

According to Forbes, Ngannou banked a $ 10 million payday for his controversial bout with Tyson Fury back in Oct. 2023 and a $ 20 million purse for Joshua just a few months ago.

For what it’s worth, White has been on record saying Ngannou would have been the highest-paid Heavyweight of all time if he had stayed in UFC. “The Predator” revealed he made $ 600,000 for his final UFC fight.

Impossible!

To checkout the latest PFL-related news and notes click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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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