Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said in an interview on SiriusXM Fight Nation’s MMA Today that he still owes UFC president Dana White.
“What money is he talking about? The money he owes me?” Ngannou said in response to White’s recent comments at a press conference leading up to UFC 308. (ESPN’s Andreas Heil).
“Remember, this whole thing ended with (them) saying, ‘Oh, we’ll pay you back the money we owe you for the Stipe (Miocic) vs. Cyril Gane fight,’ all that. They never refunded me money. I’m now making more money than I’ve ever made in the UFC. I could have made more money in my entire UFC career if I had continued going to the UFC. You could say it’s twice the money.
“Either way, if I didn’t make enough money that I could have made in the UFC if I had made more money, that’s my problem. Why is he so upset that I’m not making as much money?” Are you standing here? Live your life, Monman.”
White said of Ngannou, who left the UFC in January 2023 and signed with the PFL four months later.
“Francis left because he knew that if he fought Jon Jones and didn’t win, it would hurt his chances of making the money he wanted to make,” White said.
“But realistically, his contract here was bigger. If he had stayed in the UFC, his contract here would have been bigger. They can deny it all they want. “Why would I lie? Why should I care? It doesn’t matter.”For me anyway…he would have made more money if he had stayed in the UFC. ”
As Hale noted, Ngannou was allowed to pursue outside opportunities after signing with the PFL. According to Hale, he fought heavyweight boxing giants Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, and reportedly earned $20 million for both fights.
Ngannou said in an interview with mixed martial arts fanatic Ryan Harkness on The Last Stand podcast last November that he has more to offer than the Fury fight throughout his UFC career.
“First of all, from the moment I leave the UFC, whatever my next fight is is going to be very different than what I made it,” Ngannou said in part.
“Because the last three years in the UFC, I’ve been facing contract issues and I didn’t want to sign a new contract that would have given me more money but not enough, right? The conditions and conditions under which I could obtain that. I was no longer able to do boxing, which was one of my ultimate dreams.
“So my next MMA fight would have been completely different as well,” Ngannou continued. “At least more than everything I’ve ever earned in my life and career. You have to understand that I wasn’t getting paid very much.”
It’s clear that fans want to see a superfight between Ngannou and current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones is perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC history, with a career record of 27-1 (one no contest). His only real rival at the moment would be Ngannou, a phenomenal fighter who has more than gone toe-to-toe with Fury and Joshua in the boxing ring.
Ngannou has a total of 18 wins and 3 losses in mixed martial arts, but is currently on a seven-fight winning streak. He left the UFC as the promotion’s champion, fresh off a first-round KO of Renan Ferreira for the PFL Superfight Heavyweight Championship.
But he’s clearly on record saying it’s White who gets in the way of Jones’ fights.
“The only guy standing in that fight is Dana White,” Ngannou said. “I want a Jon Jones fight. I’m going to be in that fight. Jones is going to be in that fight. But this is a new story. I also fought Jon Jones three years ago. I was going to watch the fight with Jones, and I’m still down for it.”
This isn’t the first time there’s been incredible complications and drama between two superstar fighters facing off, and it won’t be the last. Whether Jones and Ngannou will ultimately get this time is up for debate, but so far it doesn’t seem like the two are on the verge of fighting in the Octagon.
