Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou dug himself a hole. The Frenchman of Cameroonian origin, after winning the title, caught a star at the level of Conor McGregor and began to openly run into the leadership of the league because of small fees.
The conflict dragged on. «Predator» in January 2022 defended the title for the first time, and then healed the injury before the end of the contract with the world's main MMA promotion. The UFC intended to keep the African giant and make him the highest paid heavyweight in history. Ngannou, on the other hand, wanted even more zeros in the check and ugly said goodbye to the league.
Big changes have taken place since the heavyweight fighter escaped:
- Jon Jones returned after three years of inactivity and did not notice Cyril Gan. The Frenchman did not last a round with «Boney». One of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA took the belt, which became vacant after the departure of Ngannou;
- In November, Jones will hold a farewell fight. The American wants to meet his compatriot Stipe Miocic in New York and, having overcome the legend, retire;
- Sergei Pavlovich is on the way! The Russian with six knockout victories in a row (all obtained in the first rounds) led the race for gold and is now just waiting for the well-deserved «title winner».
The head of the organization, Dana White, put an end to business relations with Ngannou. Angry with the behavior of the “Predator”, the head of the UFC assured that the athlete would never enter the octagon again.
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"We worked with this guy for two years, trying to organize a duel for him. It is absolutely impossible to negotiate with him … No, he will never be in the UFC again, he made a choice. We had over 70 meetings, offered him tons of money, and showed him nothing but respect. They tried to keep it, but the train left,» MMA Mania quotes White.
But what about the huge cash for the dreaming Ngannou? The reality turned out to be much more gray, because the heavyweight is a small-town star, known only within the boundaries of the MMA community. The fighter does not reach Conor and Khabib Nurmagomedov with their global audience coverage. And it is unlikely that he will ever be able to do it. His requests to most leagues seemed unreasonable and absurd. Back gave promotion of fisticuffs Bare Knuckle FC, and Bellator settled on «interest».
Even the Russian organization Hardcore FC came out on a free agent. The head of the league, Anatoly Sulyanov, offered the athlete three million dollars for a boxing confrontation with undefeated Soslan Asbarov. However, Ngannou's side demanded 10 million.
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“Francis had the opportunity to meet with me, but he declined. If anyone should be criticized (for ruining our fight), it's Ngannou. If I'm not mistaken, he was offered the biggest contract in heavyweight history, he had the opportunity to dethrone me. But he didn't believe in himself, he just didn't want to risk it.»
Jon Jones
American MMA fighter 77457d6765664c7f&hd=2″ width=»100%» height=»100%» allow=»autoplay; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;» frameborder=»0″ allowfullscreen=»»>
McGregor and Sean O'Malley, UFC Hall of Famers Jose Aldo, Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping spoke about the Predator getting excited. The famous MMA veteran Chael Sonnen also called on the ex-champion to change his mind. However, Francis's main hope did not fade. He still believed in the fight against the undefeated British Tyson Fury and $ 25 million for the main event of the boxing evening.But the WBC heavyweight champion was more promoting a phantom fight against the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, but he seemed to have forgotten about the showdown with Ngannou. There are talks of Predator fights over the summer with Fury or Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua or Derek Chisora. Will it be interesting to the viewer? There is as much intrigue in such posters as in the sensational duel between Floyd Mayweather and McGregor. But then there was a precedent, a landmark event! Now there can be no talk of hype. Boxing promoters understand everything perfectly. Is this why Ngannou has been out of the game for over a year?True, very soon things can go uphill for Francis. The head of the Asian league ONE, Chatri Sityodtong, made a loud statement. He promised fans «big news». The functionary also has no doubts that the former UFC star will have problems with Russian light heavyweight champion and interim heavyweight belt holder Anatoly Malykhin.
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“We negotiated with Francis. I like it, it has a lot to offer us. But I think it won't be easy for him. Look at Malykhin: a former Russian wrestler with a 12-0 record, a powerful knockout punch and an 80% finish rate. He's a real nightmare for a big drummer like Ngannou. But at the same time, Francis has the X factor — it's just a huge monster, «Sityodtong said on The MMA Hour.
At the moment, talk about the Malykhin fight and Ngannou early. After all, the domestic “heavyweight” will have to fight with the absolute champion Arjan Bhullar. If Anatoly is successful, the promotion will receive an undefeated double champion on July 15. That's when the road to a tough fight against Francis will be open.
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"Finally, Ngannou understood where the best parties are. I'm waiting. And he's in for a tough night if he signs with ONE. I'll be the first to meet him. I promise you the fight will be remembered for a long time. As always, Ngannou is waiting to hit my highlights. I'm better than him in every direction".
Anatoly Malyikhin
Russian MMA fighter