Retired Fedor Emelianenko denies Ngannou talks and accuses Dana White of bad faith

Fedor Emelianenko has moved to shut down rumours of a potential fight with Francis Ngannou, insisting his comments were taken out of context, while also levelling a pointed accusation at UFC CEO Dana White over the promotion’s repeated failure to sign him during his career.

Speaking to Russian outlet Ushatayka, the 50-year-old said a question from a young fan about dream opponents had been misrepresented by the media. “I was speaking to young people and someone asked me, ‘Do you have a dream? Who would you like to fight?’” Emelianenko said, via a Russian-to-English translation by Red Corner MMA. “If we’re talking about a real dream, in fighting Francis Ngannou, I couldn’t manage MMA now. I have too many injuries, but I’d have a go at him in boxing. That’s just me thinking out loud. That’s all it is. I never said we were in negotiations.”

Emelianenko retired in 2023 following a first-round knockout loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290, closing out one of the most celebrated careers in MMA history. His dominance during the PRIDE era — which included victories over Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, and Kevin Randleman — and a 28-fight unbeaten run between 2001 and 2010 cemented his status as a generational heavyweight.

Despite that legacy, Emelianenko and the UFC never reached an agreement, and the Russian was blunt about where he places the blame. He recalled a specific episode around 2009, when he was a free agent following a win over Brett Rogers, only for the UFC to show no interest — before making overtures once he had re-signed with Strikeforce.

“When I’m free, they aren’t interested. When I’m under contract, the offers start coming,” Emelianenko said. “If there were legal proceedings, would you cover all the costs? Obviously, I wasn’t going to leave. But at my manager’s request, we met him and the lawyers. Honestly, I didn’t understand why. I think they just wanted to shut me down. They sign me, Strikeforce sues me, and I can’t fight for either side. That’s it.”

The remarks amount to a direct challenge to White’s public narrative that the UFC made genuine efforts to bring Emelianenko into the organisation. “He simply doesn’t stand by his words,” Emelianenko said of the UFC chief, making clear he does not share the widespread view of White as a promotional legend.

Emelianenko’s comments are unlikely to prompt any formal response given his retirement, but they add a significant footnote to one of MMA’s longest-running what-if stories — the fight that the UFC and the sport’s most mythologised heavyweight never managed to make.