Not-Mad UFC (Still) Won’t Let Fighters Box

A rising tide lifts all boats … but high enough to be safe from Dana White’s torpedoes?

UFC is not angry, jealous, or bitter.

That’s according to former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who insists the success of Francis Ngannou “uplifted the entire sport” of MMA. “The Predator” made his “sweet science” debut last weekend in Riyadh and turned the combat sports world upside down with his impressive 10-round performance against WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury.

I guess Cormier missed all that drama between Ngannou and UFC CEO Dana White.

“There’s this idea that the UFC is upset that Francis Ngannou did what he did,” Cormier said on YouTube. “Why would they be? Francis Ngannou uplifted the entire sport last weekend. Francis Ngannou went out there as a mixed martial arts world champion, fought the lineal heavyweight champion of the world, and lost by split decision.”

White has been publicly shaming Ngannou for several years — long before their messy contract negotiations — and was the leading critic of the Ngannou vs. Fury fight, insisting it was not only a bad idea for “The Predator,” but also a “stupid” waste of time, energy, and money. Ngannou proved otherwise, collecting a career-high payday and doubling his market value.

Just don’t expect White to have a change of heart based on the results.

“We got the [Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor] thing and that was a one-off,” former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy told The MMA Hour. “I do feel like the UFC in particular, like Dana’s a boxing fan. I think he was intrigued by that because he felt Conor was something quite special and he might be able to just do something as well as obviously they made a bunch of cash out of it.

“If you look at somebody like a Sean O’Malley or a Jon Jones, he doesn’t want to take that risk. You remember when he took Chuck Liddell over to PRIDE and ‘Rampage’ [Quinton Jackson] beat him up, that kind of burned him, I feel. He’s been very, very reluctant to risk breaking his toys in other people’s promotions. I think he’s going to do everything he can to stop people from doing it.”

That’s probably why we never saw UFC challenge “Viacom’s killers.”

Ngannou, 37, is expected to make his decision on what’s next by the end of the week. “The Predator” also has a contract with PFL MMA and is likely to make his cage-fighting return at some point in early 2024 against an opponent to be named. Among the leading candidates is a certain “Bomber” with dreams of MMA superstardom.