Daniel Cormier Says Anthony Joshua Hindered Francis Ngannou’s Financial Opportunities

Francis Ngannou was on Cloud 9 following his debut boxing match. He took on the then-WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, in a fight as a massive underdog. Every time a UFC fighter stepped into the boxing ring, they ended up getting schooled by the pros. So, seeing how Fury lined up against Ngannou, no one gave him a chance.

However, all that changed when ‘The Predator’ knocked down ‘The Gypsy King’ during their fight. Although Ngannou lost via a contentious decision, fans were begging to see more of him in the boxing ring.

That’s when he decided to take on Anthony Joshua, and this time around, the fans had even higher hopes for the former UFC champion. But ‘AJ’ rained on his parade, securing a knockout victory over the Cameroonian. And that’s where the Ngannou hype train stopped.

And according to former UFC double champion, Daniel Cormier, host of the Good Guy/ Bad Guy, the fight not only put a pause on Ngannou’s boxing run, but it also messed up his ability to cash in huge checks.

“After getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua last time, those paydays may not be as available to Francis anymore, so now he’s in PFL,” Cormier asserted.

Notably, later in the same year, Ngannou returned to the PFL to fight Renan Ferreira for PFL’s heavyweight title. Interestingly, since he never actually dropped his UFC heavyweight title either, it technically makes him the Lineal heavyweight champion of the world.

Now, whether or not this is the reason for UFC champion Jon Jones’ interest in the fight remains unknown, but it certainly does make for a dramatic script.

Ngannou accepts Jones’ challenge

Almost a week ago, Jones managed to trigger the UFC fans even more when he called out Ngannou. Instead of focusing on making the fight against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall like he’s supposed to, Jones instead called out for old rival Ngannou.

Ngannou and Jones had been hyped up for a heavyweight title fight back in 2022-2023 when the Cameroonian held the title. Jones had, however, taken a hiatus from the sport to prepare for a move from light heavyweight to heavyweight.

Curiously, he would only return to the promotion 2 months after Ngannou left the UFC over contract disputes.

However, with Jones’ own career coming to an end, the Rochester native only wants to fight legends of the sport, tell a larger-than-life story before hanging up the gloves for good.

And right now, Ngannou simply fits the bill.

Jones tweeted out, talking about how the fight against the PFL champion would sell much better than the Aspinall fight, and that it would be much better for his legacy.

Ngannou, never one to shy away from trash talk, has accepted Jones’ challenge. He responded to his tweet, saying, “You take care of the UFC, I’ll take care of the PFL, and we’ll finally find out who’s the KING OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT.” 

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Ngannou is ever going to compete in the UFC, especially with Dana White still holding a grudge.