White takes blame for Ngannou being scrubbed from 'UFC Countdown'
UFC CEO Dana White was apologetic Tuesday after former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou's name was edited out of a UFC-produced video.
During the UFC 305 edition of the "Countdown" series that aired last week, a recent clip of Israel Adesanya mentioning Ngannou and Kamaru Usman at a press conference was edited to leave out Ngannou's name.
Ngannou parted ways with the UFC as a free agent and signed with the PFL in 2023.
The first rule of UFC Fight Club: don’t mention Francis Ngannou’s name…
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) August 13, 2024
Here’s a look at the clip from the UFC 305 Countdown episode versus what Adesanya actually said at the UFC 305 Pre-Sale Press Conference.
It’s no surprise, but the UFC’s attempt to erase Ngannou from its… pic.twitter.com/PZpA7UAtSe
White said he had nothing to do with the omission of Ngannou's name on the show but took responsibility for the incident.
"Whoever was editing it, they thought that was the right decision and did what they thought I wanted," White told MMA reporter Kevin Iole. "That's not what I wanted, and had I known that, I would have not authorized that. But that's on me. Totally on me."
White added: "My production team are a bunch of rock stars, and they are truly f-----g awesome. I make it so hard on them sometimes with some of the crazy shit I say, and it's tough. … I'm in charge of everything production-related, so at the end of the day, the fact that it happened falls on me 100%. It's my responsibility, and I accept it. Blame me for that."
Adesanya, one of three African-born former UFC champions along with Usman and Ngannou, criticized the UFC last week for leaving out Ngannou's name.
"You can't erase Francis' legacy in the UFC," said Adesanya, who went on to lose to Dricus Du Plessis in a middleweight title bout in the UFC 305 main event last weekend in Perth, Australia. "It's part of what we've done. It's forever in history, in stone. Trying to whitewash it or just not talk about it is silly. I know he's fighting for the PFL right now, but it's still history. You can't just turn a blind eye to it. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually. This is how business goes with the UFC."
White said he already called Adesanya and apologized for the blunder.
Ngannou is scheduled to make his PFL debut - and return to MMA after more than two years away - against Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.