Former UFC fan favorite Matt Brown believes Francis Ngannou made a legacy-altering mistake in parting ways with Dana White.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou‘s split from the promotion in 2023 sent shockwaves across MMA. After a lengthy contract dispute with Dana White and the UFC brass, Ngannou was stripped of his heavyweight title and requested his release to become a free agent.
Ngannou’s UFC split led to dream boxing matches with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While he lost both fights, Ngannou accomplished a lifelong goal to compete in the ring, and nearly handed Fury his first-career defeat.
But despite Ngannou’s post-UFC successes, former UFC standout Matt Brown believes the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.
Matt Brown: Francis Ngannou isn’t in the UFC heavyweight GOAT conversation
In a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer, Brown reacted to Ngannou’s recent appearance at UFC Atlanta and how fans should view the former heavyweight champion.
“Legacy wise, he’s already forgotten in terms of the heavyweight division in MMA. Legacy wise, I think it damaged his legacy tremendously,” Brown said of Ngannou.
“Had he won those boxing matches, that would have obviously helped his legacy a s– ton. For instance, after he fought Tyson Fury the first time, and a lot of us believe that he won, it was pretty close, debatable but I would argue he probably won. I don’t think anybody was arguing that it was a bad move at that point.”
“Was it a mistake on that part? No, but his legacy is going to suffer. He’s not going to be in the talks for the best heavyweight ever, period. Losing those two boxing matches is probably the worst thing that could have happened for him. It humanized him a lot.”
Ngannou is plotting his return to boxing despite a successful MMA comeback fight in the PFL last year. He finished Renan Ferreira in the first round after almost three full years away from the cage.
Since releasing Ngannou, the UFC has stayed away from acknowledging the former heavyweight champion when alluding to the promotion’s history. Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya criticized the UFC from erasing Ngannou from its history books.
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Francis Ngannou and Dana White remain at odds years after UFC split
Just months ago, Ngannou and White’s longstanding feud reignited over recent remarks Ngannou made about his current pay compared to what he made during his UFC tenure. White publicly explained his long disdain for Ngannou and promised to never be in business with him again.
White’s icy relationship with Ngannou is a major hurdle to securing a potential super fight with Jon Jones. But Jones recently proposed a clash with Ngannou as he continues to delay a booking against UFC interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Ngannou vs. Jones will likely forever be a fantasy matchup, and Ngannou’s controversial leave from the UFC continues to be discussed years later.