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MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has called out Dana White for a “bold-faced lie” in the wake of Francis Ngannou‘s UFC departure.
Following the promotion’s opening event of the year, White took to the microphone at the post-fight press conference to drop a number of major announcements, the most prominent of which regarded the future of the UFC’s heavyweight titleholder.
After a lengthy contractual dispute that dated beyond his successful title defense against Ciryl Gane last January, Ngannou’s time in the UFC has come to an end. Revealing the news, White noted that “The Predator” turned down a contract offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time.
Giving his side of the split, White attempted to explain Ngannou’s exit as deriving from a desire to fight “lesser” competition for more money away from the Octagon. The UFC president also repeated a common line that has appeared during most fractured negotiations.
“I’ve told you guys (media members) this before — if you don’t wanna be here, you don’t have to be here,” White said.
Helwani, however, has insisted that isn’t the case whatsoever.
Helwani Calls Out White’s “Bold-Faced Lie”
During a recent interview with Helwani, Ngannou dismissed White’s presser remarks. As well as noting that an ideal scenario would have seen the UFC agree to his demands, the Cameroon native stated that he was willing to face Jon Jones in March had he come to terms on a new deal.
Prior to that, the Canadian journalist made similar accusations of deceit during an episode of The MMA Hour. Reacting to the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight presser, Helwani pinpointed White’s claim that fighters are free to leave.
“That right there is a bold-faced lie. That is a lie,” Helwani said. “Don’t you think Nathan Diaz didn’t want to be there? Do you think Al Iaquinta wants to be there? Do you think Luke Rockhold (wanted) to be there? Do you think Francis Ngannou wanted to leave a long time ago? That is not true. He says that, but that is not true.
“You can’t call the UFC right now and say, ‘I don’t wanna be here,’ and they let you go. You can’t do that, so much so… that if your contract is up, if the five years are up on your contract… there’s an extra year tacked on as a matching period,” Helwani continued. “Imagine that. Imagine Jalen Brunson is a free agent, unrestricted free agent, and yet for a whole year, the (Dallas) Mavericks can match any offer that he gets… You can’t leave!”
Helwani went on to add another name to the list of examples he claims proves White’s remark wrong, noting the UFC’s blocking of a possible charity boxing match between former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre and Oscar De La Hoya in 2021.
“Georges St-Pierre was retired, wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya for charity in a special exhibition bout,” Helwani recalled. “‘Nope, can’t do that because we still got our period.’ So that is not true. That is absolutely not true… Unless they want to (let a fighter leave).”
Georges St-Pierre says he loved the pitch Triller gave him for the De La Hoya fight and even called Lorenzo Fertitta to help him convince Dana White. Fertitta liked the idea but Dana ultimately said no. #themmahour— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) August 18, 2021
What are your thoughts on Dana White’s claim that fighters can leave the UFC if they want to? Do you agree with Ariel Helwani?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has called out Dana White for a “bold-faced lie” in the wake of Francis Ngannou‘s UFC departure.
Following the promotion’s opening event of the year, White took to the microphone at the post-fight press conference to drop a number of major announcements, the most prominent of which regarded the future of the UFC’s heavyweight titleholder.
After a lengthy contractual dispute that dated beyond his successful title defense against Ciryl Gane last January, Ngannou’s time in the UFC has come to an end. Revealing the news, White noted that “The Predator” turned down a contract offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time.
Giving his side of the split, White attempted to explain Ngannou’s exit as deriving from a desire to fight “lesser” competition for more money away from the Octagon. The UFC president also repeated a common line that has appeared during most fractured negotiations.
“I’ve told you guys (media members) this before — if you don’t wanna be here, you don’t have to be here,” White said.
Helwani, however, has insisted that isn’t the case whatsoever.
Helwani Calls Out White’s “Bold-Faced Lie”
During a recent interview with Helwani, Ngannou dismissed White’s presser remarks. As well as noting that an ideal scenario would have seen the UFC agree to his demands, the Cameroon native stated that he was willing to face Jon Jones in March had he come to terms on a new deal.
Prior to that, the Canadian journalist made similar accusations of deceit during an episode of The MMA Hour. Reacting to the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight presser, Helwani pinpointed White’s claim that fighters are free to leave.
“That right there is a bold-faced lie. That is a lie,” Helwani said. “Don’t you think Nathan Diaz didn’t want to be there? Do you think Al Iaquinta wants to be there? Do you think Luke Rockhold (wanted) to be there? Do you think Francis Ngannou wanted to leave a long time ago? That is not true. He says that, but that is not true.
“You can’t call the UFC right now and say, ‘I don’t wanna be here,’ and they let you go. You can’t do that, so much so… that if your contract is up, if the five years are up on your contract… there’s an extra year tacked on as a matching period,” Helwani continued. “Imagine that. Imagine Jalen Brunson is a free agent, unrestricted free agent, and yet for a whole year, the (Dallas) Mavericks can match any offer that he gets… You can’t leave!”
[/quote]
Helwani went on to add another name to the list of examples he claims proves White’s remark wrong, noting the UFC’s blocking of a possible charity boxing match between former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre and Oscar De La Hoya in 2021.
“Georges St-Pierre was retired, wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya for charity in a special exhibition bout,” Helwani recalled. “‘Nope, can’t do that because we still got our period.’ So that is not true. That is absolutely not true… Unless they want to (let a fighter leave).”
Georges St-Pierre says he loved the pitch Triller gave him for the De La Hoya fight and even called Lorenzo Fertitta to help him convince Dana White. Fertitta liked the idea but Dana ultimately said no. #themmahour
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) August 18, 2021[/quote]
What are your thoughts on Dana White’s claim that fighters can leave the UFC if they want to? Do you agree with Ariel Helwani?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
Following the promotion’s opening event of the year, White took to the microphone at the post-fight press conference to drop a number of major announcements, the most prominent of which regarded the future of the UFC’s heavyweight titleholder.
After a lengthy contractual dispute that dated beyond his successful title defense against Ciryl Gane last January, Ngannou’s time in the UFC has come to an end. Revealing the news, White noted that “The Predator” turned down a contract offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time.
Giving his side of the split, White attempted to explain Ngannou’s exit as deriving from a desire to fight “lesser” competition for more money away from the Octagon. The UFC president also repeated a common line that has appeared during most fractured negotiations.
“I’ve told you guys (media members) this before — if you don’t wanna be here, you don’t have to be here,” White said.
Helwani, however, has insisted that isn’t the case whatsoever.
Helwani Calls Out White’s “Bold-Faced Lie”
During a recent interview with Helwani, Ngannou dismissed White’s presser remarks. As well as noting that an ideal scenario would have seen the UFC agree to his demands, the Cameroon native stated that he was willing to face Jon Jones in March had he come to terms on a new deal.
Prior to that, the Canadian journalist made similar accusations of deceit during an episode of The MMA Hour. Reacting to the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight presser, Helwani pinpointed White’s claim that fighters are free to leave.
“That right there is a bold-faced lie. That is a lie,” Helwani said. “Don’t you think Nathan Diaz didn’t want to be there? Do you think Al Iaquinta wants to be there? Do you think Luke Rockhold (wanted) to be there? Do you think Francis Ngannou wanted to leave a long time ago? That is not true. He says that, but that is not true.
“You can’t call the UFC right now and say, ‘I don’t wanna be here,’ and they let you go. You can’t do that, so much so… that if your contract is up, if the five years are up on your contract… there’s an extra year tacked on as a matching period,” Helwani continued. “Imagine that. Imagine Jalen Brunson is a free agent, unrestricted free agent, and yet for a whole year, the (Dallas) Mavericks can match any offer that he gets… You can’t leave!”
Helwani went on to add another name to the list of examples he claims proves White’s remark wrong, noting the UFC’s blocking of a possible charity boxing match between former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre and Oscar De La Hoya in 2021.
“Georges St-Pierre was retired, wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya for charity in a special exhibition bout,” Helwani recalled. “‘Nope, can’t do that because we still got our period.’ So that is not true. That is absolutely not true… Unless they want to (let a fighter leave).”
Georges St-Pierre says he loved the pitch Triller gave him for the De La Hoya fight and even called Lorenzo Fertitta to help him convince Dana White. Fertitta liked the idea but Dana ultimately said no. #themmahour— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) August 18, 2021
What are your thoughts on Dana White’s claim that fighters can leave the UFC if they want to? Do you agree with Ariel Helwani?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Following the promotion’s opening event of the year, White took to the microphone at the post-fight press conference to drop a number of major announcements, the most prominent of which regarded the future of the UFC’s heavyweight titleholder.
After a lengthy contractual dispute that dated beyond his successful title defense against Ciryl Gane last January, Ngannou’s time in the UFC has come to an end. Revealing the news, White noted that “The Predator” turned down a contract offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time.
Giving his side of the split, White attempted to explain Ngannou’s exit as deriving from a desire to fight “lesser” competition for more money away from the Octagon. The UFC president also repeated a common line that has appeared during most fractured negotiations.
“I’ve told you guys (media members) this before — if you don’t wanna be here, you don’t have to be here,” White said.
Helwani, however, has insisted that isn’t the case whatsoever.
Helwani Calls Out White’s “Bold-Faced Lie”
During a recent interview with Helwani, Ngannou dismissed White’s presser remarks. As well as noting that an ideal scenario would have seen the UFC agree to his demands, the Cameroon native stated that he was willing to face Jon Jones in March had he come to terms on a new deal.
Prior to that, the Canadian journalist made similar accusations of deceit during an episode of The MMA Hour. Reacting to the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight presser, Helwani pinpointed White’s claim that fighters are free to leave.
“That right there is a bold-faced lie. That is a lie,” Helwani said. “Don’t you think Nathan Diaz didn’t want to be there? Do you think Al Iaquinta wants to be there? Do you think Luke Rockhold (wanted) to be there? Do you think Francis Ngannou wanted to leave a long time ago? That is not true. He says that, but that is not true.
“You can’t call the UFC right now and say, ‘I don’t wanna be here,’ and they let you go. You can’t do that, so much so… that if your contract is up, if the five years are up on your contract… there’s an extra year tacked on as a matching period,” Helwani continued. “Imagine that. Imagine Jalen Brunson is a free agent, unrestricted free agent, and yet for a whole year, the (Dallas) Mavericks can match any offer that he gets… You can’t leave!”
[/quote]
Helwani went on to add another name to the list of examples he claims proves White’s remark wrong, noting the UFC’s blocking of a possible charity boxing match between former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre and Oscar De La Hoya in 2021.
“Georges St-Pierre was retired, wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya for charity in a special exhibition bout,” Helwani recalled. “‘Nope, can’t do that because we still got our period.’ So that is not true. That is absolutely not true… Unless they want to (let a fighter leave).”
Georges St-Pierre says he loved the pitch Triller gave him for the De La Hoya fight and even called Lorenzo Fertitta to help him convince Dana White. Fertitta liked the idea but Dana ultimately said no. #themmahour
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) August 18, 2021[/quote]
What are your thoughts on Dana White’s claim that fighters can leave the UFC if they want to? Do you agree with Ariel Helwani?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
