Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) put a ton of marketing muscle behind heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou as the Cameroonian was gearing up for his Stipe Miocic title fight, which took place in the UFC 220 pay-per-view (PPV) main event back in January.
And rightly so, as “The Predator” had built up quite a buzz with his violent run through the 265-pound weight class, which included one of the most devastating knockouts of all time (relive the carnage here).
But Ngannou was thoroughly thrashed by Miocic, then came out and laid an egg against Derrick Lewis in his very next fight. During that unsuccessful span, White launched a smear campaign against his former star-in-the-making and ran him down in the media.
With his next fight already booked, “The Predator” was hoping to clear the air, now that his poor performances are (finally) in the rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, he’s not sure how to handle that situation from his training camp in France.
“No, I haven’t seen him, I haven’t talked with him,” Ngannou told The Ariel Helwani MMA Show. “Yes, I want to [clear the air] but I don’t know how I’m gonna handle that. Since my fight against Stipe, I haven’t seen Dana White. I never called him. We never spoke on the phone. I have to put that out of my head, people got disappointed with my performance. I have to put that away, that distraction, and focus on the fight.”
That fight would be his heavyweight rematch against No. 3-ranked Curtis Blaydes, who fell to Ngannou by way of technical knockout (cut) back in 2016. That was the last time the red-hot “Razor” tasted defeat, winning five of his next six with one “no contest.”
They’ll hook ‘em up in the upcoming UFC Fight Night 141 mixed martial arts (MMA) main event on UFC Fight Pass, which is set for Sat., Nov. 24, 2018 inside Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China (see the full event poster here).
And since White doesn’t typically travel overseas for Fight Pass-streamed cards, it’s unlikely that Ngannou will have the opportunity to clear the air with his promoter. I guess he’ll have to let his fists do the talking on fight night.
Source : mmamania
