It’s almost three years ever since the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made his final octagon appearance in January of 2022 when he successfully defended his title against Cyril Gane. He then realized his long-sought dream of boxing and crossed over to the squared circle and has made close to $30 million from his first two boxing bouts, much to the annoyance and public denial by Dana White.
Earlier during a podcast, the UFC president was asked about his fighters making way more money since moving over to boxing. White simply denied the claims that fighters like Ngannou were making more money than they would have if they had stuck with the MMA promotion.
But now, Ngannous has come out and fact-checked the company president.
Responding to the business mogul’s latest comments, ‘The Predator’ during an exclusive to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie cleared the air and asserted that life has been good ever since he left the promotion,
“Personally at this point, it’s been a while since I’ve taken anything from Dana White as credible. I don’t give any importance because the things that he says a lot of times cannot make sense. But just for this statement. Everything that I left the UFC for – every single thing – I have had more. Way more. Everything. Name it. I’ve had way more!”
Ngannou left the promotion in 2022 after a spree of failed negotiations over fighter pay, medical insurance, and a few other demands he had from the UFC that would make the lives of all fighters in the entire roster of the company lead better lives.
As for his boxing career, he certainly did not get the result he wished for with his first bout against Tyson Fury ending in a controversial draw while his second with Anthony Joshua resulted in a brutal KO loss.
However, Ngannou made a ton of money in the process and is now gearing up for the second chapter of his career in PFL. He faces Brazilian powerhouse Renan Ferreira in his debut at Riyadh next week on October 19 in an MMA match. Ahead of the fight, the fighter gave his thoughts on his opponent.
Ngannou on Ferreira – “He is a little less version of me”
PFL’s Super Fights PPV is about to go in Saudi Arabia as former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou is set to make his hotly anticipated MMA return.
He is scheduled to take on Renan Ferreira, who had won the 2023 PFL Heavyweight Championship. Now, prior to the epic heavyweight showdown, the Cameroonian has weighed in on his thoughts about his opponent.
During an exclusive with Shakiel Mahjouri on YouTube, Ngannou was asked what he thought about his Brazilian foe, to which he said he was fighting a mini version of himself.
“I don’t know, he [Ferreira] is very athletic. He’s very skilled. Well-rounded. But I think whatever it is, it’s a little less than me [laughs]. He is a little less version of me, I would say so.”
Naturally, Ngannou isn’t paying much attention to Ferreira or the fact that he somehow towers over the Cameroonian fighter. But can Ngannou beat Ferreira? If he does, where does he go next? Back to boxing?
