Francis
Ngannou wants
UFC fighters to push for the sunset clause in their
contracts.
The sunset clause means a fighter’s contract with the UFC expires
after a certain time period, regardless of whether they fight or
not. The sunset clause is what allowed Ngannou to leave the
UFC in 2023 after yearlong failed contract
negotiations.
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UFC fighter pay and contracts are once again making headlines after
the announcement of the White House card. Despite having rallied
for a spot on the card for a year, Jon Jones has
been left out. Jones has since publicly called for his release from
the UFC. Ngannou advises UFC fighters to include the sunset
clause in their contracts, to allow them the freedom to leave after
a certain period if they want.
‘I’m Not Signing My Life Off’
“The sunset clause. Because we have to understand, the key here is
the freedom, it’s not the money,” Ngannou said at media scrum. “You can convert your freedom to
money, but the key is the freedom. Being trapped or being held in a
contract that you can’t out of, and maybe you’re not happy – is not
fair… I think it should be everyone’s choice to decide to do
whatever they want. Maybe if I have a contract and I want to fight
off my contract, it’s my right to fight off my contract. That’s why
there is a contract, and there is a limited number of fights in the
contract. I’m not signing my life off.”
Ngannou had called for the liberty to simultaneously compete in
boxing, health insurance for fighters and various other clauses,
which led to failed contract negotiations with the UFC. Ngannou
subsequently signed with the
Professional Fighters League which allowed him to compete in
boxing matches against Tyson Fury
and Anthony
Joshua. “The Predator” only competed once under the PFL banner
and served as the chairman of PFL Africa, before parting ways with
the promotion earlier this month. The Cameroonian is now set to
fight Philipe
Lins on MVP’s
first MMA eventon a Netflix card on May 16 at the Intuit Dome
in Los Angeles, California.