Israel Adesanya bristles at UFC trying to ‘whitewash’ Francis Ngannou out of history

Israel Adesanya understands UFC has a business to run, but trying to erase Francis Ngannou and his contributions to the sport just doesn’t make sense to him.

In the days leading up to UFC 305, a promotional video was released showing comments that Adesanya made about the trio of African champions that once reigned atop the sport. At the time, Adesanya was joined by Ngannou as heavyweight champion and Kamaru Usman as welterweight champion, and the “three kings” touted plans to expand the sport even further into Africa in the future.

But the edited promo pushed out by UFC suspiciously removed Ngannou’s name despite being mentioned by Adesanya at that pre-fight press conference. None of it sat well with the former middleweight champion, but he hopes UFC eventually comes to its senses.

“You can’t erase Francis’ legacy in the UFC,” Adesanya said at UFC 305 media day. “It’s part of what we’ve done. It’s forever in history, in stone. So trying to whitewash it or just not talk about it is silly.

“I know he’s fighting for the PFL right now, but it’s still history. You can’t just turn a blind eye to it. I’m sure they’ll fix it eventually. This is how business goes with the UFC.”

The split between UFC and Ngannou seemed to be a long time coming after “The Predator” spoke out about several issues regarding his contract he wanted to address before potentially inking a new deal to stay with the organization.

Ngannou’s issue wasn’t only about pay, but rather the freedom to pursue outside interests such as a longtime dream to compete in boxing, which only happened for him after he left UFC in free agency.

He eventually signed with PFL, but he was allowed to engage in a pair of boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before eventually booking his promotional debut against Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19.

Of course, Adesanya understands that UFC has to view Ngannou and PFL as opposition, but that doesn’t negate the history they share together.

“He’s an [integral] part of what we’ve done in the UFC,” Adesanya said. “Right now, I know there’s competition between other promotions and the UFC and battles, but you can never erase history. The streets, the internet will always remember.

“I think they’ll fix this eventually, but it’s just a lot of chest puffing. The UFC are smart people. They’ll understand and they’ll rectify this eventually.”

As far as his own personal relationship with the former UFC heavyweight champion, Adesanya still talks to Ngannou regularly and is excited to see his friend return to action in October.

The fight also serves as Ngannou’s first appearance since the tragic death of his 15-month-old son back in April.

Adesanya can’t even fathom that kind of pain, but he wishes nothing but the best for Ngannou as he restarts his MMA career in the PFL cage.

“I’m happy for him,” Adesanya said. “I’m happy for what he’s doing. He just went through something that I would never wish on anyone. We’ve talked. I’ve checked up on him. Again, I respect Francis so much.”