Top 10 for 2022: Francis Ngannou leaves UFC as Heavyweight Champion

Francis Ngannou defeated Cyril Gane in Anaheim, California this past January.  The fight was the last on his contract and his departure presented the awkward situation of the promotion’s champion leaving while still being the Champion.

Ngannou’s case centered on his contract and the fact that his 5 year contract included a ‘sunset clause’ which had a definitive end.  The provision is contrary to the “Champion’s Clause” which is included in combat sports.  The clause tacks on an additional amount of time to the contract of the champion in order to defend the title. The obvious rub is that it extends the contract of the champion regardless of whether they want to or not.  In Ngannou’s case, his contract was set to end in 2022 and if he had more time under his contract, he would have likely been extended.  But since he signed his contract five years prior, the hard stop date on the contract was enforced.

Part of the reason Ngannou held out was due to his hope to compete in boxing due to the bigger fight purses.  Of course, with the UFC that was not going to happen without the promotion signing off on it.  But that would be unlikely unless they would co-promote the event which would likely include the UFC getting a portion of the pay. 

This all comes back to the issue of the pay disparity in the UFC versus boxing.  While Ngannou was paid $600,000 for his last fight in the UFC, this is in pale comparison to the millions that Heavyweight boxer such as Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury receive for fighting once or twice a year. 

Ngannou attempted ways to find new streams of revenue including selling NFTs. He also forged deals with CashApp and Jacob & Co. outside the UFC family of sponsorships in order to receive a better cut.

To throw another issue into the mix is Ngannou getting injured in the Gane fight which now postpones his next move.  There have been rumors that Ngannou is talking about coming back to the UFC on a new deal.  While he did show up in the ring to talk up a possible fight with Tyson Fury after the heavyweight champ’s defeat of Dillion Whyte in April, there has been no other talk about it since.