"Treating him like he's f***ing Chris Benoit" - Fans react to UFC allegedly censoring Francis Ngannou's name during Ciryl Gane's post-UFC 310 presser

Fight fans have chimed in on the UFC allegedly censoring Francis Ngannou's name from Ciryl Gane's UFC 310 post-fight press conference. A video clip featuring both, the allegedly unabridged and abridged versions, has elicited mixed reactions from netizens.

Since losing to Ngannou in Jan. 2022, ex-interim UFC heavyweight champion Gane restarted his quest to become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. He's fresh off a split decision win over Alexander Volkov in their rematch at UFC 310 (Dec. 7, 2024).

During the UFC 310 post-fight press conference, Gane addressed his heavyweight rivals' power, including Ngannou's. A video on X features supposedly unedited footage of Gane naming Ngannou.

The supposedly edited footage, featured in the same video, has Gane's speech as unintelligible and Ngannou's name unheard.

Check out the supposedly uncensored and censored versions in the tweet below:

Fight fans soon weighed in. Many recalled that earlier this year, the UFC seemingly edited out Francis Ngannou's name from the UFC 305 Countdown episode, wherein the former heavyweight champion was mentioned by Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya criticized the UFC for the same. UFC CEO Dana White subsequently suggested it was an inadvertent production error and blamed himself for it. Addressing the UFC's latest alleged omission of Francis Ngannou, an X user alluded to his feud with White and wrote:

"And Dana will act oblivious when asked about it even though he's the one with the personal agenda against Francis."

A few others insinuated that the UFC utilized similar tactics against other fighters who exited the promotion on a sour note. A commenter posted:

"classic UFC. At least they're consistent!"

Alternatively, some observers questioned the veracity of the UFC allegedly cutting Ngannou's name from Gane's post-fight presser. One fan jibed at Ngannou's purported inability to sell pay-per-views without the UFC:

"nganouu couldnt sell 10k ppv's without the UFC."

Another fan lambasted White:

"@danawhite pathetic you petty a** bi*ch"

Others claimed the UFC is treating Ngannou akin to how the WWE distanced itself from the double-murder and suicide-accused ex-WWE superstar Chris Benoit. An X user wrote:

"All the dude wanted was health insurance and the ability to box, lmao. They're treating him like he's f***ing Chris Benoit."

Check out the screenshots of a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

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Francis Ngannou's UFC departure, war of words with UFC boss Dana White

Before and after outpointing training partner-turned-rival Ciryl Gane in Jan. 2022, Francis Ngannou demanded that the UFC let him box, have a fighter advocate during meetings, more sponsors, etc.

The Cameroonian-French combatant couldn't reach an agreement, so he departed the UFC in Jan. 2023 and was stripped of his heavyweight title.

Francis Ngannou later competed in two high-profile professional boxing matches. His PFL debut this October witnessed him knock Renan Ferreira out to win his first PFL title.

Many have deemed 'The Predator's' potential UFC comeback as highly unlikely. He's seemingly open to boxing or competing in MMA under the PFL banner in 2025. Meanwhile, Ngannou and Dana White are still at odds.

Ngannou recently suggested that the UFC and White owed him money from some fights. White subsequently scoffed at the claims. Furthermore, while 'The Predator' has relentlessly campaigned for a UFC-PFL cross-promotional fight against current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, White has vehemently shot the idea down.