For Francis
Ngannou, it was about more than just money.
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During an appearance on “The MMA Hour” on
Tuesday, Ngannou broke his silence on why contract negotiations
fell apart with the UFC, which led to him relinquishing the
heavyweight title and entering free agency. According to “The
Predator,” he asked for several stipulations that proved to be a
sticking point for the Las Vegas-based promotion. This included the
ability to negotiate with outside sponsors, health insurance and
having a fighter advocate during negotiations with the UFC.
“What I’ve learned is you don’t go to the table of negotiation
expecting to have everything that you want. But at least you want
your partner, the other side, to show your willingness or to at
least try,” said Ngannou, who also revealed that he was offered in
the neighborhood of $8 million to fight Jon Jones at
UFC 285.
“I asked for a lot of things, which doesn’t mean I was expecting
all those things,” he continued. “I was expecting at least one or
two of those things. I asked for the right of a sponsorship, which
we’ve been reaped of. We can’t have sponsorship. I asked for health
insurance. [I] couldn’t have [it]. I asked for a fighter advocate,
somebody in the board meeting who will advocate for the fighters. I
asked for that. I couldn’t have those [things] that I asked for. 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.”
In an ideal world, Ngannou wanted a three-fight contract with the
UFC, and he would then pursue professional boxing fights against
the likes of Tyson Fury
or Anthony
Joshua. But the promotion was not interested in allowing him to
pursue those other endeavors.
“In that contract, I’m not free,” Ngannou said. “I’m not an
independent contractor. I have no rights. I hand over all the power
to you guys. I’ve seen in the past how you guys can utilize your
power against me, and I don’t want that.”
When Dana White announced that Ngannou was a free agent over the
weekend, the UFC president attributed the heavyweight’s exit to a
desire to face “lesser opponents.” White also claimed that Ngannou
weighed more than 300 pounds and was struggling during his recovery
from knee surgery. Ngannou, who said he’s closer to 275 pounds,
brushed it all off as sour grapes.
“Dana is Dana,” Ngannou said. “I don’t care about what he says.
Dana cannot hurt me. From where I come from, I have heard a lot
worse than that, and I’m still here. What he said is what he said.
It’s his problem. What I know is that I’m here, and I have a good
future and I think what he was expressing was frustration because
it doesn’t matter what he said.
“Regardless, he’s upset. He’s not happy about the situation. He saw
his champion go away, which is probably something that never
happened to him.”
For the time being, Ngannou plans on weighing his potential options
and finding the deal that best suits his needs. He won’t rule out
an eventual return to the UFC, though that would have to occur on
his terms.
“The only thing that scares me is regret,” Ngannou said. “That’s
the only thing that really scares me, things I’ll regret. So I
always make sure I do everything that I can in my power in order to
avoid regret.
“I know that I did everything right. I don’t have any regrets. I
wouldn’t do anything different if I had to do it again.”