Dana White promises that Francis Ngannou is the last thing on his mind.

Despite not working together for nearly two years, the UFC CEO and the former heavyweight champion rarely escape questions about each other. The latest fracas started after White revealed that he wanted to cut Ngannou after he suffered back-to-back losses in the UFC in 2018.

That earned a response from Ngannou, who called his former boss a “bully” and added that White is probably “praying for my downfall” while also claiming that the UFC actually owes money that was promised to him after wins over Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic.

“When have you ever heard a story in all the years we’ve been in business, even when it was upside down, where we owed somebody money? Never happened,” White said about Ngannou’s claims at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “So he’s full of shit there.

“Then, I lost? I didn’t lose anything. I was done with Francis after the [Derrick Lewis fight]. Actually, he owes me money because we had to watch that fight with him and ‘The Black Beast.’ He should actually pay me back for that fight and all of you. Me praying [for his downfall] — trust me, I don’t think about Francis that much. You guys ask me the question about the PFL and I responded. Other than that, the only one who’s praying for his demise is probably the PFL because they signed a shitty contract with a guy that doesn’t deliver any numbers and ticket sales or pay-per-views. They’ve got to keep paying this guy for however long and good for him. Not good for them.”

As much as White maintained that he absolutely wanted to release Ngannou from the UFC roster, there’s no denying that he bounced back from those losses and eventually won the heavyweight title. Ngannou’s run with the UFC ended after six straight wins including victories over four ex-champions.

But White says the issues he had with Ngannou had nothing to do with his talent as a fighter but rather personal problems between them that spiraled out of control. While he didn’t reveal the nature of their fallout, White explained that his relationship with Ngannou was never the same again.

“Someday, I’ll tell you the story. I was all about Francis in the beginning and then I found out who Francis was,” White said. “I told the two guys who asked me not to cut Francis when somebody shows you who they are, believe them. Believe me, I have no sleepless nights over Francis leaving.

“I didn’t like Francis as a person. It wasn’t a guy I wanted to do business with. My boys were telling me he’s misunderstood. I told them when somebody shows you who they are, believe them. It wasn’t about him becoming heavyweight champion of the world. Francis isn’t a good guy. He plays the good guy. ‘I don’t understand the language’ so he seems like he’s a nice guy. He’s not, and he’s just not a guy I wanted to be in business with, period. End of story. Whether he became the champion or not.”

Ngannou obviously left in free agency before booking a pair of boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before finally making his PFL debut with a win over Renan Ferreira.

He remains under contract with the PFL but has also hinted at a potential return to boxing in the future.

No matter where he goes next, White promises there’s no word where he ever gets back in business with Ngannou again.

“We won’t be. We’ll never be in business together,” White said. “You can tell. We don’t like each other. This goes back to before the first Stipe fight. He pulled some shit before the first Stipe fight, and I said I’m done with this guy and then Stipe beat the shit out of him. Great night. We never had a relationship after that.”

It’s safe to say that White won’t be bending over backwards to present Ngannou with any opportunities and that includes a potential fight against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

While that’s a matchup that White desperately wanted to see once upon a time, that’s no longer and option and if Jones is going to fight anybody after he faces Miocic at UFC 309, it certainly won’t be Ngannou.

“He didn’t want that fight,” White said about Ngannou facing Jones. “He could have stayed and took that fight. He didn’t want that fight. Tom Aspinall deserves that fight.”

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ABU DHABI – How does the UFC say no to Alexander Volkanovski?

That’s the question Dana White posed to the media after the conclusion of UFC 308 on Saturday at Etihad Arena.

Of course, White is talking about the next title challenger for UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who furthered his stardom with a massive knockout of Max Holloway in the card’s main event.

After the fight, Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was brought in the cage as UFC commentator Daniel Cormier interviewed Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC). The move isn’t always done by the promotion, but is usually indicative of its future plans when it does occur.

“Volkanovski’s one of those guys,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “We’re not going to say no to Volkanovski.”

The two top featherweights collided back in February and Topuria won by knockout. Volkanovski has not fought since and is currently on a two-fight skid, given that he previously was knocked out in a lightweight title challenge vs. Islam Makhachev.

While other top contenders, such as UFC 308 backup fighter Diego Lopes, have emerged in the title conversation, White indicated Volkanovski’s past as a company man, willing to bail the promotion out of difficult situations has nudged the UFC in his favor.

“He’s been that guy for us any time we needed him,” White said. “He’s been on this run like (Israel) Adesanya and like Alex (Pereira) is on right now. When things don’t go our way and you’ve got to call a guy, Volkanovski has always been that guy. He really was. For him to ask for it, I don’t think anybody in this room is going, ‘Oh, this is ridiculous’ or crazy. Who wouldn’t want to see it again?”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

There’s a good reason why Robert Whittaker tapped out just a split second after Khamzat Chimaev applied a devastating face crank end their fight at UFC 308.

Following the pay-per-view broadcast, Daniel Cormier showed off a gruesome photo that Whittaker sent him showing off the damage done from Chimaev’s jaw-crushing submission.

“Khamzat Chimaev broke his tooth,” Cormier said about the photo. “Literally dislocated his jaw in a matter of two seconds. It was unbelievable.”

(Warning: UFC 308 photo below is pretty graphic.)

Chimaev’s finish is the first time that Whittaker has ever been submitted in the UFC.

It was a dominant performance from start to finish as Chimaev landed a takedown just seconds into the opening round and he never gave Whittaker a second to breathe. Chimaev was dominant but not impatient as he continued to ensure he maintained control over Whittaker as he did his best to scramble free and get back to his feet.

Again and again, Chimaev kept pulling him back down to the ground while looking to advance his position.

When he finally had full control on Whittaker’s back, Chimaev quickly secured his arms around the former champion’s face to lock up the submission. Chimaev tightened his grip and Whittaker immediately tapped out.

Whittaker apparently told Chimaev in the cage that he suffered a dislocated jaw but it wasn’t until after he got backstage that the full damage was revealed. Obviously, Whittaker will be headed for oral surgery thanks to the nasty submission applied by Chimaev.

The win moved Chiamev to 14-0 in his career and 8-0 in the UFC as he takes another step towards a potential title fight in the middleweight division.

The UFC handed out five bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to one of the most unique finishes in history.

After UFC 308, five fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Abu Dhabi. Check out the winners below.

Fight of the Night: Mateusz Rebecki def. Myktybek Orolbai

Mateusz Rebecki def. Myktybek Orolbai via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

In one of the bloodiest, goriest fights of the year, Mateusz Rebecki (20-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) pulled an upset and took a split decision from Myktybek Orolbai (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Orolbai had a massive hematoma around his eye for much of the fight, but was allowed to stay in the hunt. It was back and forth, and bloody as hell for both, but Rebecki sneaked out the split call.

Performance of the Night: Shara Magomedov

Shara Magomedov def. Armen Petrosyan via TKO (spinning backfist) – Round 2, 4:52

Shara Magomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) delivered one of the most unique finishes in MMA history when he threw a spinning backfist at Armen Petrosyan (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC). No sooner did the first one land, did Magomedov pivot with a second that was on the money for a double dose of disaster for Petrosyan.

Performance of the Night: Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker via submission (face crank) – Round 1, 3:34

Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) almost certainly jumped the line past Sean Strickland for a middleweight title shot with Dricus Du Plessis when he obliterated the jaw of former champ Robert Whittaker (27-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) with a first-round face crank.

Performance of the Night: Ilia Topuria

Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 1:34

Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) became the first fighter to knock out former featherweight champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) when he battered him for a third-round stoppage in the main event.