Dana White and Francis Ngannou’s fallout might be the most talked-about separation in UFC history — and possibly the ugliest one as well. The former UFC heavyweight champion once called the head honcho a “bully,” and in return, White later labeled him “not a nice guy.” But, even after a couple of years, their beef has not cooled down even a little bit.

At UFC 321, Tom Aspinall will defend his title for the first time against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi. As usual, the UFC posted a ‘Countdown’ video on their YouTube channel, featuring how fighters have been training for their bouts along with highlights from their past fights. In the video, the British champ’s highlights were mostly there. But surprisingly, the Frenchman’s highlight reel from his fight against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 wasn’t there.   

UFC 321 countdown video doesn’t include Ciryl Gane vs Francis Ngannou’s highlight  

Noticing that at UFC 321 countdown video, the Ngannou vs. Gane highlight was cut, a fan commented on the video, “Wow, they really don’t want to acknowledge Ngannou.” Well, it has to be appreciated that the fan made a sharp observation, as the UFC erasing their former heavyweight champion’s memory was quickly spotted. But truth be told, it’s not just the fans who’ve noticed this trend. Even Israel Adesanya pointed out last year that Francis Ngannou’s highlights were starting to fade from UFC.

At the UFC 305 media day, ‘The Last Stylebender’ said, “You can never erase Francis history from the UFC. I’ll say that. It’s part of history. We need to fix this. I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact we’re trying to just cut out a really important part of history. It’s silly. It’s really silly, but we’ll fix that.”Adesanya’s emotional reaction back then made sense since Ngannou was part of the ‘Three Kings’ alongside him and Kamaru Usman. Still, with the UFC continuing to erase Ngannou’s highlights, one thing has become crystal clear.

‘The Predator’ will never come back to the UFC, ever again. Although earlier this year, Ngannou’s head coach Erick Nicksick stirred the MMA world by revealing that the Cameroonian was actually interested in clearing all differences and making a return, Dana White shut that possibility down at the UFC 316 post-fight presser, saying, “Probably not.” So, the UFC starting to remove Ngannou’s highlights could be another way to solidify that statement.

Also, as White remained cold toward their former 265 lbs champ, things didn’t get any better at his new promotion either. After the controversial fallout with the UFC, Francis Ngannou also upset PFL chairman Donn Davis by not attending two PFL Africa events despite being a major stakeholder in the PFL’s African wing.

However, after all those tense moments and personal tragedies that slowed ‘The Predator’s combat sports career down. Now he believes the time has come to rise back from the ashes once again. 

‘The Predator’ eyes comeback after a year of inactvity  

Although Francis Ngannou was both appreciated and criticized for leaving the UFC, it has to be admitted that his life turned upside down after that decision. The Cameroonian made a boatload of cash fighting Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in boxing, and also earned a solid paycheck in his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira. But just as things were looking positive, tragedy struck hard.

In 2024, the former champ’s 15-month-old son, Kobe, tragically passed away. A loss that’s unimaginable, even for someone as strong as Ngannou. Then, in 2025, he was allegedly involved in a motorcycle accident where an 18-year-old girl sadly lost her life. It was an incredibly rough period for the MMA star, making it difficult to shake off those painful memories and return to training.

However, through a recent Instagram post, ‘The Predator’ shared that he believes the time has finally come to make a grand return to the sport. On Instargrm, Ngannou posted a photo of himself and captioned, “I can’t believe it’s been a year since I last fought. I’m looking forward to getting back in there soon..”  

Well, that’s amazing news coming from the former champion. But when, where, and against whom Ngannou will return. And whether it’ll be in boxing or MMA that also still remains to be seen. That said, let us know what you think about the UFC actually cutting him from the UFC 321 Countdown highlights, and share your thoughts on his potential comeback.