UFC President Dana White has shut down any chance of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou returning to the franchise.
Ngannou is currently a free agent after leaving the UFC at the start of the year and his next move is yet to be decided with a forray into professional boxing a possibility.
Now White has claimed that he will never welcome Ngannou back to MMA's premier promotion after doing everything he could to keep the Cameroon star.
“No,” White responded when asked on The Pat McAfee whether a UFC return for Ngannou is a possible.
"We worked with this guy [Francis Ngannou] for two years, we tried to get him a fight.
"He’s absolutely impossible to deal with. He’s – no, he’ll never be in the UFC again. So, he made his decision – we worked hard, man.
"One of my guys, Hunter Campbell [Chief Business Officer], who works for me, must have done 75 dinners with his guy [Ngannou], trying to get him on board.
"We offered him a lot of money, showed him nothing but respect. We wanted to keep him, and that ship has sailed.”