UFC almost fired Francis Ngannou, Khamzat Chimaev stirs panic, Alex Pereira to make Hollywood debut: MMA News Roundup 

Dana White revisited the time he almost fired Francis Ngannou from the UFC but changed his mind at the last minute. Elsewhere, Khamzat Chimaev gave fans quite the scare with his delayed weigh-ins.

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Dana White almost cut Francis Ngannou from the UFC

UFC CEO Dana White nearly fired Francis Nganou years before he left on his own.

After Ngannou's successful PFL debut last week against Renan Ferreira, White shared his less-than-friendly feelings about 'The Predator' once during the Power Slap 9 press conference:

"I was going to cut Francis when he lost two in a row (to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis). I was going to cut him. Somebody around here begged me not to do it. So it wouldn’t have mattered to me, one way or the other. There’s a much deeper story to this whole thing, and he would have made more money if he stayed in the UFC."

White also alleged that Ngannou left because he feared a loss to Jon Jones would have hurt his ability to make the kind of money he wanted to earn.

Watch Dana White's comments below (15:35):

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Khamzat Chimaev's delayed weigh-in stirs panic

The official UFC 308 weigh-ins were initially supposed to have a one-hour window. All fighters were required to hit the scale within that period. However, it was later changed to two hours.

The consensus on social media was that the window was extended because Khamzat Chimaev had not weighed in within the first hour. Fans got more and more concerned as the clock ticked away in the second hour and there was still no sign of 'Borz'. Chimaev's previous instance of infamous weight-fail surely did not help his cause.

However, Chimaev did finally step on the scale with only 13 minutes remaining but looked fit and healthy. He weighed in at 186 pounds.

Daniel Cormier later said in a panel discussion featuring Michael Bisping and Paul Felder that Abu Dhabi officials encouraged fighters to weigh in in the hour before 10:00 AM but were allowed to weigh in after 11:00 AM local time, but with prior permission from the commission.

Chimaev seemed to have obtained said permission.

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Alex Pereira to star in horror movie

After winning world titles in kickboxing and MA, Alex Pereira will now add another feather to his decorated cap.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'Poatan' will make his acting debut opposite Adria Arjona of Andor and Hitman fame in a horror movie called Onslaught. It will be an A24 film directed by Adam Wingard.

Pereira will reportedly play the villain, a character called The Butcher, and bring his fighting skills to the role, including anaconda chokes and roundhouse kicks.