UFC 270 News: Dana White Gets Honest About Francis Ngannou

The drama between the UFC and reigning heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou continues.

Ahead of his UFC heavyweight title fight against Cyril Gane at UFC 270, a crossover boxing fight against Tyson Fury appears to be in the cards for Ngannou.

However, UFC boss Dana White wants to ensure that “The Predator” stays focused on what's ahead of him–his title defense on Saturday, January 22.

“You’re talking about, you don’t want to fight under your contract–he gets a piece of pay-per-view, like all the other champions do,” White told MMAFighting on Thursday. “You’re worried about all these other things–I want to box Tyson Fury… You’re the underdog on Saturday night. You’re not a huge, 10-1 favorite. Beat Ciryl Gane. Win this fight, then you can start talking about the possibility of other things.”

“All these guys think they want to box,” he added. “Him boxing Tyson Fury, he’s got that kind of power that anything could happen. But he should be worried about Saturday night. That’s one of the problems when you start jumping over and thinking about things–focus on Ciryl Gane and winning this fight.”

Prior to White’s comments, Ngannou had already insisted that he is “100%” sure about making the big switch to boxing.

According to Ngannou, the “only” thing that hinders it from happening is the issue with the parties involved in the negotiation.

"We've been having discussions for years," Ngannou previously said. It seems like they are okay with it. Let's be honest, I do believe that whatever you are doing--whatever the event is--if the UFC is involved, it's just going to make it bigger. There is no question. So, yes, if I box, I would like the UFC to be on board.”

"Honestly, the only reason we are here is that at some point, there wasn't good faith in this,” the Cameroonian continued. “I don't understand why we can't come to an agreement."

The relationship between Ngannou and the UFC has been fractious as the reigning champion feels he's not getting the treatment he deserves from the promotion.

Apart from switching to boxing, Ngannou also swore to not fight for the UFC again if his demands are not met.

“I will not fight for $500,000 [or] $600,000 anymore,” he exclaimed. “It’s over. I took this fight for personal reasons, because I want to make sure that regardless of [whether] it’s fair, I can make my case that I have completed the fights.”