Exclusive: Randy Couture not surprised with UFC's treatment of Francis Ngannou: "They've done their best to whitewash me"

Randy Couture recently shared that he finds the UFC's handling of Francis Ngannou completely predictable. Ngannou's widely publicized departure from the UFC was anything but amicable. After fulfilling his contract, 'The Predator' chose not to renew his deal with the promotion, pointing to unresolvable contract disputes.

During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, 'The Natural' weighed in on Ngannou's ongoing verbal clash with Dana White. Drawing from his own past experiences, the former two-division UFC champion noted that the organization tends to portray former fighters who don't align with their agenda in a negative light:

"I'm not surprised at all. They've done their best to whitewash me out of the books as well. That's how they treat anybody who doesn't go along with their good old boys' club. Honestly, that's the way they handle it, and if you're on the outs with Dana, then that's how you're going to be treated."

Check out Randy Couture's comments below (7:50):

The tension between Ngannou and Dana White seemed to escalate even further when, just before UFC 305, the promotion released a video featuring Israel Adesanya discussing the "Three Kings" of Africa but notably omitted any reference to Ngannou.

It’s no secret that White was displeased with Ngannou’s exit, even accusing him of dodging a title fight with Jon Jones. White's evident disdain for 'The Predator' sparked rumors that he may have orchestrated the removal of Ngannou’s name from all UFC promotions. However, the UFC CEO emphatically denied that the decision was his.

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When Randy Couture predicted a legal showdown between Francis Ngannou and UFC

During his appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting) in Feb. 2022, Randy Couture expressed his belief that the deadlock between Francis Ngannou and the UFC would likely lead to a courtroom battle similar to the one he experienced with the promotion. 'The Natural' said:

"These guys [UFC] have endless – well, not endless – but a lot of money. They’ll drag Francis into court and try and bleed him of the money he has accrued through his fighting, and at some point, you have to make a decision about what you want to do. This is what happened with me. I was fighting to try and make that Fedor [Emelianeno] fight happen, spending a lot of my own money fighting the injunctions."

Couture engaged in a 13-month legal showdown with the UFC to secure his free agency after resigning from the promotion in 2007. 'The Natural' cited management disputes and his desire to arrange a fight with Emelianenko as his reasons for leaving. However, he eventually returned to the octagon and re-signed to defend his title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Nov. 2008.