Francis Ngannou was last seen in action against Ciryl Gane in 2022, where he marked his first title defense. Interestingly, it was his last fight on the UFC contract. It is worth noting that Ngannou was quite frustrated with his contract at the time and wanted his terms to be met while signing a new contract. However, that wasn’t the case and Francis Ngannou failed to come to terms with the UFC and the two ended up parting ways for good.
While he looks to find a new home, Ngannou might have lost the opportunity to cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of all time after leaving the UFC.
Khabib Nurmagomedov advised Francis Ngannou to stay in the UFC
Francis Ngannou’s move to leave the UFC has been criticized a lot. Speaking about the matter, Khabib Nurmagomedov suggested that it’s only fair for Ngannou to chase the bag and venture into boxing. He said, “But if he goes to boxing and he’s making 50 or 60 million dollars, he has to. Why not?”
On the contrary, Khabib Nurmagomedov also claimed that if Francis Ngannou wants to cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of all time, he has to stay in the UFC. He said, “If you want to make history, become the greatest heavyweight of all time, then you have to stay in UFC.”
Did Ngannou sign with ONE Championship?
Ever since leaving UFC, Ngannou has been scouting options. While he has been offered to the likes of PFL and ONE Championship, it looks like he can’t come to terms with any promotion.
Most recently, Francis Ngannou was in discussion with the CEO and Founder of ONE Championship Chatri Sityodtong. However, Ngannou failed to come to terms yet again because of his non-financial requirements.
Chatri Sityodtong later revealed that Ngannou was offered $20 million per fight. But it wasn’t enough for him. ‘The Predator’ even wanted a seat on the board of directors and wanted to decide his opponents’ pay as well.
But later, the former UFC champion denied all of these allegations by claiming that the promoters are two-faced.
However, if it’s true with all of these requirements, it looks unlikely that the former UFC heavyweight champion will find a new home anytime soon. That said, it will be interesting to see where his future leads next.
What do you guys think is next for Ngannou? What are your thoughts on Nurmagomedov’s advice?
