Francis Ngannou reveals side regarding UFC departure

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Finally, the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) community just learned why former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight king Francis Ngannou had to leave the sport and refuse a mega-fight with Jon Jones.

Days after letting UFC president Dana White throw shades at him in several press conferences as to why the Ngannou-Jones dream fight failed to materialize, the Cameroonian knockout artist posted a video on his official YouTube channel and explained every detail about the negotiation last January 19, 2023.

Ngannou said that on top of the monetary agreements, both camps discuss to get everything done, he decided to raise several concerns that White and the UFC camp failed to take into consideration.

Apart from the earnings that he was supposed to earn in fighting Jones, Ngannou revealed that he asked White for a right of sponsorship, health insurance, and a fighter advocate that can stand up for all the fighters during board meetings.

Ngannou said that all of his requests were turned down by White, one of the main reasons why he didn’t bother to push through with the Jones fight.

“I asked for a lot of things, which doesn’t mean I was expecting all those things. I was expecting at least one or two of those things.  I just wanted them to know that there is something that I do want. I also wanted them to think about that, at least in consideration,” said Ngannou.

Ngannou has been vocal about his UFC contract lately and also said that White pays his fighters at a very low price if pay-per-view expected numbers won’t be met.

This was the same concern that former UFC flyweight champion Demetrius Johnson revealed, exposing White that despite his undisputed champion status, some fighters that bring huge pay-per-view shares still got the bigger paycheck than him.

As of now, Ngannou is still undecided regarding his next move as a professional MMA fighter but he announced that several organizations already reached out to him for a contract.

“You guys know how the UFC contract can be. Restrictive and as an independent contractor, you don’t really have a say in that contract. You don’t have a right, so I can’t do that,” added Ngannou.