Dana White announced that Francis Ngannou rejected the UFC’s last contract offer and has waived any rights it had to retain the now former UFC Heavyweight Champion. White indicated that the promotion’s offer would have made him the highest paid heavyweight in UFC history. Of course, there is no report on how many fights Ngannou would have to go through and if the money was guaranteed.
White discussed Ngannou passing on the offer in the UFC Fight Night 217 post-fight press conference on Saturday. He inferred that Ngannou wanted to fight lesser competition with the talking point that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion is financially secure and wanted to fight lesser competition. The inference is based on the fact that the UFC has the best heavyweight division in MMA. Ngannou won his last 6 fights with the company. Of course, this was before Jon Jones declared his intent to fight in the heavyweight division. White’s inference also implied that Ngannou was seemingly ducking a fight with Jones.
Ngannou’s obligations with the company ended in 2022 but the two sides were negotiating a new deal. Ominous with White’s words about earning the most in the heavyweight division, is that he did not indicate if the money was guaranteed and how many fights he would have to complete with the company. One might recall that Nate Diaz refused to sign a fight contract with the UFC because the contracts included a multiple fight renewal along with the fight.
The PFL, Bellator and even Bare Knuckle FC are potential landing spots. Also, boxing is not out of the realm of possibility as he appeared with Tyson Fury in the ring last year. Ngannou’s interest in boxing would be based upon the high upside in splitting revenues with a promotional partner.
Payout Perspective:
To be honest, I’m surprised that Ngannou wanted to sign with the UFC. A Jon Jones encounter would have made him big dollars but clearly he sees a better future outside the UFC. At 36, Ngannou probably wanted to explore his options while he is in the prime (somewhat) of his combat sports career. He still has the punching power that would bring eyes to PPV. If he would be able to forge a deal with another promotion for a higher guarantee and a cut of PPV points (and maybe opt-outs) he should go with them. While the UFC would like to say Ngannou chose his way out of a fight with Jones, he decided what was right for him.
Leave a Reply