U.S. mixed martial arts UFC heavyweight champion ‘Nuclear Fist’ Francis Ngannou (37, Cameroon/France) is leaving the UFC. He was also stripped of his heavyweight title belt.
At a press conference after the UFC Fight Night event held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on the 15th (hereinafter referred to as Korean time), UFC President Dana White said, “The UFC and Ngannoo have not reached an agreement to renew the contract.” officially announced.
“We offered him the highest price ever for a heavyweight fighter, including Brock Lesnar, but Ngannou refused,” White said. “We agreed to release him and from now on he can do whatever he wants.”
Ngannou, who is from Cameroon and has excellent punching power, defeated Stipe Miocic (41, USA) by KO in the second round at the UFC 260 in March 2021 and became the UFC heavyweight champion.
Then, in January of last year, he overturned the expectation that he would be disadvantageous in the combined title match with interim champion Cyril Gane (33, France) at the time, and won a decision victory, showing off his strength.
But Ngannou was constantly at odds with the UFC. He openly expressed his dissatisfaction with his fighting fees. He has hinted at leaving the UFC and moving to other martial arts organizations or professional boxing. In April of last year, he appeared in a match against Tyson Fury (UK), the current professional boxing heavyweight champion, and hinted at the possibility of a confrontation with Fury.토토사이트
After renewing the contract with Ngannou, the UFC tried to promote a title fight with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (36, USA) in March. However, Ngannou, who has been rehabilitating Achilles tendon and knee ligament injuries, expressed disapproval. Here, as the contract renewal negotiations continued to creak, the two sides eventually chose the final breakup.
Even if Ngannou leaves the UFC, a brighter and richer future awaits. Ngannou received between 500,000 and 600,000 dollars per fight in the UFC. It is not a small amount of money, but considering the value of Ngannou’s name, which is compared to ‘UFC’s Tyson’, it must be a shabby amount.
If Ngannu jumps into professional boxing, it is expected that he will receive at least 10 million dollars per fight, and UFC competition organizations such as the PFL and Bellator are also known to be preparing a large bundle of money to sign Ngannou.
President White announced the release of Ngannou and officially announced a heavyweight championship fight between Jones and Gane. The fight will take place on March 5 at UFC 285 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“There have been multiple heavyweight title fights between Ngannou and Jones, the best fighter in UFC history,” White said. “Jones was ready to fight anyone in the heavyweight division. He didn’t care who the opponent was.”
“We tried to sign a new contract with Ngannou for two years, but Ngannou kept rejecting it,” he said firmly.