Francis Ngannou once mistakenly "threatened" Dana White

MMA superstar Francis Ngannou recently revealed what might have been the beginning of his feud with the UFC and Dana White.

In an interview with Ariel Hewani on The MMA Hour, the former UFC heavyweight champion opened up about his decision to leave the promotion. Ngannou discussed the reasons for his departure as well as his future plans.

At one point during the discussion, 'The Predator' also revealed that a remark he made during negotiations for his previous contract may have made Dana White feel threatened, leading to problems with the UFC.

Narrating the incident, Francis Ngannou said:

"It was before the Stipe [Miocic] fight...my last contract was negotiated at that moment. It took me almost three years to figure out the problem. During these negotiations, I said something to Dana White. And this was by complete mistake, I didn't even know what I meant at that time, but I think he [White] felt attacked, he felt threatened."

Ngannou continued:

"They were pushing me [to sign] and I didn't even have time to find a manager. And then sitting there with him [White], I'm like, 'Let's just focus on this one [fight with Miocic], we can negotiate [my contract] even after every fight. I think that was what I said to Dana, and you should not say something like that to Dana White."

Check out Francis Ngannou discuss his feud with Dana White in the video below (33:26 mark):

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Francis Ngannou details negotiations that led to him parting ways with the promotion

In the same interview, Francis Ngannou disclosed the reasons for the breakdown in negotiations for a new contract with the UFC.

The 36-year-old stated that the UFC declined to meet even a single one of his demands, which included granting sponsorship rights, health insurance, and representation to all fighters under contract with the UFC.

Ngannou said that while the UFC agreed to give him health insurance, they refused to do the same for all fighters:

"So, I asked for a lot of things. Which doesn't mean I was expecting all those things...but I was expecting at least one or two. I asked for sponsorship, right of a sponsorship which we [fighters] have been ripped off. I asked for health insurance...couldn't have it. I asked for a fighter advocate...somebody in the board meeting who would advocate for a fighter. I couldn't have those stuff that I asked for...they [UFC] say they don't do business like that."