Dana White provides update on Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane UFC title bout: “We’re working on it right now”

UFC president Dana White provided an update on the Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane heavyweight bout, saying “we’re working on it right now.”

Ngannou defeated former champ Stipe Miocic back at UFC 260 in March to claim the promotion’s heavyweight championship. However, the UFC created an interim belt to be fought for between Gane and Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August, and Gane ended up winning that fight via third-round TKO to earn a title unification bout against Ngannou.

Recently, Ngannou was asked to give his latest take on the contract negotiations he has going on with the UFC, and “The Predator” admitted that it’s been a slower process than he’s hoped, mainly because he wants the UFC to give him a new contract. In more optimistic news, White tells TMZ Sports that the UFC is working on the Ngannou vs. Gane fight right now, which could indicate the promotion is close to hammering out a deal.

“We’re working on it right now,” White said. “Actually, yesterday was matchmaking and that fight was obviously talked about a lot in the matchmaking meeting yesterday. So yeah, we’re working on it.”

As far as holding the fight between Ngannou and Gane in France, which would be a no-brainer under a normal set of circumstances, White admitted that while he would like for that to happen, he understands with COVID-19 that may not be possible to do right now.

“Yeah, that would be amazing,” White said of holding the fight in France. “But the way things are looked right now, with all of this COVID-19 stuff going on, I don’t know if that’s going to be possible. But yes, in a perfect world, I would love to do that fight in France.”

How excited are you for Dana White to get this UFC heavyweight title unification bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane booked?