Did Dana White Handle Francis Ngannou’s Loses The Right Way?
Dana White is one of the great minds that made the UFC what it is today. There’s no doubt Dana White will go down as one of the greatest fight promoters of all time. UFC fans know that he’s not afraid to voice his opinion when he’s not pleased with one of his fighters. One of the fighters he was very high on was UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou. Ngannou was one of the most terrifying heavyweight prospects on the roster. Who can forget his brutal KO win over Allistar Overeem. This was the co-main event at UFC 218, and it was probably the most highly anticipated fight on the card. Ngannou hit Overeem with a huge uppercut that sent Overeem tumbling to the mat. Ngannou followed that up with a hammer fist that knocked Overeem completely unconscious.
The stage was set for Ngannou to get his first title shot against now former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Heading into the fight a lot of the promotion was around Francis Ngannou. Ngannou was even the favorite heading into the fight. Miocic wasn’t phased and put on an absolute clinic against Ngannou. After the fight Dana White showed no love for the young heavyweight prospect. UFC then booked Ngannou to take on Lewis at UFC 226. This was hyped up to be absolute chaos but what we got was a very slow boring fight. Lewis won via decision but after the fight UFC president Dana White absolutely buried Ngannou. White said Ngannou’s ego got away from him and made it sound like he had no faith in Ngannou anymore.
As a promoter did Dana White handle this the right way? When you’re a heavyweight like Francis Ngannou who’s pretty new to the sport of MMA it’s hard to be on a two fight losing streak. Dana White’s comment definitely make that losing streak even harder to deal with. After Dana White’s comments Ngannou’s confidence is probably at an all time low. Dana White should’ve went up to Ngannou after both his losses and gave him some words of encouragement instead of burying him. Ngannou’s still new to the game of MMA and there’s still a lot of upside to having a power house like him in the heavyweight division. I believe Ngannou should still be promoted as that terrifying powerhouse.
Stephen Caloggero (steveo_calo)