Dana White has provided a reason as to why he didn’t put the belt around Francis Ngannou’s waist.

At UFC 270, Ngannou defended his heavyweight title for the first time with a decision win over Ciryl Gane. The big storyline, however, was the fact this was the last fight of Ngannou’s UFC deal and he and the Las Vegas-based promotion were not seeing eye-to-eye.

To many people’s surprise, White did not wrap the belt around Ngannou’s waist and he didn’t show up to the post-fight press conference. Instead, it was matchmaker Mick Maynard put the belt on Ngannou. According to White, the reason for his absence in the Octagon was due to some idiots in the back. Dana White  revealed the following during an ESPN+ Q&A.

Dana says Francis Ngannou was a “genius” to use the game plan he did with Gane. Dana says there was "stuff going on" backstage when the belt was being handed to Francis, there was no disrespect #AskDana

— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) January 27, 2022

White says that he walked out of the arena right after the co-main event because there was something going on backstage that he was dealing with.

White calls the people that think he was disrespecting Ngannou "idiots".

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 27, 2022

“White says that he walked out of the arena right after the co-main event because there was something going on backstage that he was dealing with. White calls the people that think he was disrespecting Ngannou “idiots”.”

“Dana says Francis Ngannou was a “genius” to use the game plan he did with Gane. Dana says there was “stuff going on” backstage when the belt was being handed to Francis, there was no disrespect.”

Although Dana White says there was no disrespect intended by him not wrapping the belt around Francis Ngannou’s waist, the heavyweight champ’s coach, Eric Nicksick felt differently.

“Honestly, I didn’t really think too much about it until afterwards. The moment I saw Mick in there, I just wanted to stay present in the moment and not think about much other than how happy I was and proud I was of Francis,” Nicksick said Monday on The MMA Hour.

“But as the night went on, I wish [White] would’ve taken the high road and just went in and done it, and just been a part of that. Because the last couple weeks, I felt like Dana and Francis had been mending things,” Nicksick continued. “I felt like those two had been trying to become better and heal that relationship. So for him to not be there — again, I don’t know his reasons why, I don’t know if he got, all of a sudden he had a stomach issue, something — but for him not to be there, I just thought it was kind of a weak move.”

Although White says there was no disrespect for not being in the Octagon, it only adds to the storyline of Ngannou and his contract dispute.

What do you make of Dana White’s reason as to why he wasn’t in the Octagon after UFC 270?