"I'm not lenient with bad guy sh*t" - Dana White gets brutally honest about the possibility of Francis Ngannou returning to the UFC

Dana White recently opened up about Francis Ngannou potentially competing in the UFC again.

It's no secret that there's no love lost between White and Ngannou. The two haven't seen eye-to-eye since the former UFC heavyweight champion left the promotion in 2023 after contract extension talks went sour. Ngannou later signed with the PFL and made his entry into the professional boxing world.

During an appearance on the Flagrant podcast in November, White sounded off on Ngannou for being a "bad guy" and accused the Cameroonian-born fighter of physical intimidation. White also claimed that Ngannou laid hands on UFC CBO Hunter Campbell after a conversation between them went sideways.

In recent interview with Oscar Willis, White fielded a question about the possibility of Ngannou returning to the UFC, given his keen interest in fighting Jon Jones on the White House card next year. The UFC CEO replied:

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"My whole thing with Francis is, I have this philosophy where, if someone shows you who they really are, believe them... There was nothing that made me happier than throwing that guy over to the f**king PFL. Let me tell you what, if we let guys go, feel bad for the company that gets them."

He added:

"We let them go for a f**king reason. I don't want to let anybody go. I don't want to be in business with guys that I don't like and that I don't think are good guys. And when you talk about good guys and guys, I am in the fight business. Sh*t happens, you know what I mean? I'm pretty lenient when it comes to tough guy sh*t. I'm not lenient with bad guy sh*t."

Catch Dana White's comments below (9:08):

Francis Ngannou responds to Dana White accusing him of physical intimidation

Francis Ngannou recently addressed Dana White accusing him of getting physical after a conversation turned fiery. While Ngannou didn't outright dismiss White's claims, he pointed out that there must have been multiple cameras where the alleged incident happened.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani (via @arielhelwani on X), Ngannou made it clear that he was tired of addressing claims made about him and said:

"You know, I kind of feel very annoyed to have to be responsible for what people say. Whatever he said, if he's at peace with it, it's okay... In his office, that’s what he said, right? Well, I’m sure he has a lot of cameras there… As I said, over time, I just get tired of this stuff. I really saw that and scrolled. I scrolled, I moved. I get past it."