Francis Ngannou is taken aback by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White’s claims that he has an ego.
Ngannou went one-on-one with Derrick Lewis in the co-main event of UFC 226. The bout took place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. “The Predator” lost the bout via unanimous decision in an uneventful affair. The bout was disappointing considering the tension between the two. Ngannou and Lewis are also regarded as the most dangerous power punchers in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
At the UFC 226 post-fight press conference, White seemed to soften the blow of a poor outing for Lewis but he threw Ngannou under the bus. White went as far as to say “The Predator” developed an ego. The heavyweight caught wind of White’s comments and he is puzzled.
“The Predator” recently appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and responded to White (via MMAJunkie.com):
“We are all human. I don’t necessarily agree I have an ego. I’m never one to stay down when I fell down. You have to have that ego when you’re a fighter. You have to stand there and believe you’re No. 1. That’s ego. But not the one to hurt the people around me. We haven’t spoke together. I don’t know why. If he had something to say he would tell me.”
After being red hot inside the Octagon with highlight reel finishes, Ngannou now finds himself in a two-fight skid. Ngannou has admitted that the loss to Stipe Miocic back in January made him hesitant to throw in his bout with Lewis. “The Predator” also told Helwani that he didn’t want to gas himself out, something he did early on against Miocic. Time will tell what’s next for Ngannou, but as of now White doesn’t appear to be happy with the heavyweight.
Do you think Dana White is blowing smoke regarding Francis Ngannou’s “ego?”
