For years, the feud between Dana White and Francis Ngannou has felt deeply personal. And on Saturday night, many fans became convinced that the UFC CEO had found another way to remind everyone of that.
Right as ‘The Predator’ was making his MMA walkout at the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano card, White went live on Instagram and announced the big news: Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 2 would headline UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Vegas.
“BST (Benoit St Denis) vs Paddy Pimblett, July 11th in the International Fight Week,” he said live. “And the main event: Max Holloway vs Conor McGregor.”
As expected, the announcement went viral online almost immediately, but not just because of the names involved but also thanks to its timing. Fans instantly noticed that Dana White’s live began almost exactly when Francis Ngannou was about to walk to the cage in Netflix’s first-ever MMA event.
Given the ugly history between the pair, plenty of fans believed it was no coincidence. That suspicion grew stronger after Francis Ngannou spent the week publicly reopening old wounds with the UFC CEO. In a recent interview leading up to the fight, the former heavyweight champion stated that his UFC exit was never about money.
“It wasn’t money,” he told Daniel Cormier. “I think the mistake that the UFC made was that we got to the point where I felt like they hit my ego. I felt like I wasn’t respected at that point.
“I think that was the moment when I was like, “OK, I think I’m getting out of this contract.’ The thing is — and this is something that really worries me — when something touches my ego, I don’t care about anything. At times, I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t care if this is going to be the end of my career.’”
Now, you cannot expect to speak against the promotion and not expect Dana White to react. After all, longtime MMA fans have seen the UFC CEO act all petty before. The UFC once placed one of the MMA GOATs, Anderson Silva, in a random non-title light heavyweight fight on Spike TV specifically to compete against rival promotion Affliction’s pay-per-view event.
That’s why many people online immediately connected the dots here too.
Fans read between the lines of Dana White power move against Francis Ngannou
The full card that was later revealed was also stacked. Along with Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway and Paddy Pimblett vs BST, Dana White also announced Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista and the UFC debut of Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson.
However, despite the impressive lineup, much of the conversation online focused on whether the UFC CEO intentionally tried to hijack attention away from Francis Ngannou’s comeback. Given the pair’s chaotic history, plenty of fans believed it was no coincidence.
Social media blew up with reactions mocking just how perfectly the announcement lined up with Francis Ngannou walking out. “Dana really announced this on IG Live as Ngannou is walking out,” one fan wrote, while another simply posted, “LMAO right during Ngannou’s walkout.”
For many people watching, it felt far too precise to be accidental, especially given the years of tension between Ngannou and Dana White. More fans chimed in with comments such as, “Dana’s hatred for Ngannou knows no bounds,” “Dana level of pettiness is absolutely insane,” and “You really hate Francis that much huh?”
The reactions only grew louder because the UFC announcement itself was massive. Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 alone was enough to make headlines, but adding names like Paddy Pimblett, Benoît Saint Denis, and Gable Steveson made the announcement impossible to ignore.
A fan wrote, “Wow. Nobody could have ever predicted the timing for the announcement of this epic mismatch.” Another called out the perfect timing, “Knew damn well y’all would announce this during the MVP card.” The fan speculation only kept on coming, as more chimed in with comments such as “Dana must have planned this to disrupt MVP MMA,” and “Trying to steal the thunder from MVP!”
Whether intentional or not, the conversation around Netflix’s biggest MMA event suddenly shifted towards the UFC once again. And for longtime MMA fans, that alone felt very familiar.
