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Brendan Schaub has warned UFC president Dana White about the risks of feuding with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
A lot of friction has been created between Dana White and Francis Ngannou, largely due to disagreements regarding fighter pay. White also previously believed 'The Predator' had an ego problem when he first started picking up some momentum in the promotion.
At UFC 270, things escalated even further when White failed to put the belt around Ngannou's waist after his win over Ciryl Gane. Shortly afterwards, White also didn't show up for the post-fight press conference.
Former UFC star Brendan Schaub, who has had his own issues with White, has sent a warning to the president.
“I’m telling you man, they don’t realise what they’re dealing with. You’re talking about a complete f***ing outlier, with the mental strength of a f***ing special forces soldier that’s gone through s*** you couldn’t even imagine, Dana. You can’t even f***ing fathom who you’re f***ing with. Oh, and on top of that mental strength, he has the body of a f***ing X-Men [member], and he’s the hardest hitter to ever walk through that god damn cage. You wanna break that guy? You think you can disrespect that guy and not put the belt on him? Are you out of your God damn mind? This isn’t a s*** on Dana episode at all, I’m a fan, I don’t think the UFC would’ve gotten where they’ve gotten without Dana’s vision, his work ethic, his ego. But that ego is his biggest Achilles heel, it’s trouble.”
Watch Brendan Schaub speak about the Dana White-Francis Ngannou issue below:
What's next for Francis Ngannou?
As a result of the knee injury he's been dealing with since a few weeks before the Gane fight, Francis Ngannou isn't expected to return to the Octagon - or even training - anytime soon.
There's a good chance it could be the end of the year before he gets back into the cage. In the meantime, the UFC needs to think about what they're going to do regarding his contract situation.
Ngannou isn't happy, White isn't happy, and the likes of Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones are frothing at the mouth to fight for a belt.
If this stand-off goes on for as long as expected, an interim belt could be introduced sooner rather than later.
