MMA
Dana White apologizes for 'scrubbing' Francis Ngannou from UFC video
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Last week during the buildup to UFC 305, fans noticed that a UFC Countdown video had removed all mention of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The mention was removed from comments that Israel Adesanya had made at a press conference and he also publicly criticized the UFC for it.
Now, UFC president Dana White is taking accountability for the moment after being pressed by the media at Dana White's Contender Series to explain what happened and why he was removed.
At first, White denied knowing about the video in question or the clear removal of Ngannou.
“I don’t know about this,” White reporters at the DWCS Week 2 post-fight press conference. “If that’s true, and that was done, and it was something that we produced, then somebody in the company made that decision. Listen, you know me. If I said we did it, I’d say ‘Yeah, f—k him,’ and ‘This is why we did it.’ I know nothing about it. Nobody ever asked me about it, and this is the first we’re hearing about it.”
But then, he later called Kevin Iole, the reporter who questioned the video and issued a formal apology and said he called Adesanya as well.
“My production team are a bunch of rock stars and they are truly f—ing awesome,” White said later. “I make it so hard on them sometimes with some of the crazy s—t I say, and it’s tough. When you asked me about that (post-fight at DWCS 68), I didn’t know anything about it. But someone was editing that and made a conscious decision, thinking that was the right thing to do — that that’s what we would have wanted, what I would have wanted."
He continued: “I’m in charge of everything production-related, so at the end of the day, the fact that it happened falls on me 100 percent. It’s my responsibility and I accept it. Blame me for that. I put them in such a tough spot sometimes saying all this crazy s—t, it’s hard for them. Whoever was editing it, they thought that was the right decision and did what they thought I wanted. That’s not what I wanted, and had I known that, I would have not authorized that. But that’s on me – totally on me. I already called Israel Adesanya and apologized for it.”
There was no mention of a call to apologize to Ngannou.
Ngannou had a very public departure from the UFC after a proposed fight with Jon Jones was unable to be made. He signed with PFL and is scheduled to make his debut there on Oct. 19 versus the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira, live on DAZN.
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