UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has lost out on $7million (£5.2m) after turning down several new contract offers from the promotion.
Ngannou is out of contract with the UFC after his decision win against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 marked the last fight on his deal.
'The Predator' owes the UFC another fight due to the champion's clause extension, but is free to leave in December as the deal he signed into 2017 cannot exceed five years.
The Cameroonian has turned down offers since winning the heavyweight title last year, stating he wants the freedom to box the likes of Tyson Fury whilst with the UFC.
And Ngannou thinks UFC contracts force fighters to choose between their freedom or more money.
“Even when they’re trying to reach out for a deal, they came out with a good amount of money, but at this point that doesn’t even matter," he said on The MMA Hour.
"I left all that down on the table. I’m taking my $600,000, I’m going there, I’m doing this and I’m winning everything.
“I left a lot more on the table. Overall, I’ve been leaving a lot of money on the table even since the Stipe fight. By now, I might be down $7million (£5.2m) that I left on the table.
"This is the thing. Freedom doesn’t work with money. You give up one for one. Whether you want freedom, whether you want money. You give up one to gain one.”
Ngannou believes that regardless of his future with the promotion a crossover fight with WBC champion Fury will happen.
UFC president Dana White appeared to snub Ngannou after his win last weekend, not putting the belt on him in the cage and being absent from the post-fight press conference.
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Unsure if the UFC still want him, Ngannou insists if the promotion make things right he will fight again for them.
“Do the UFC still want me to fight there? You should ask them. They should be the one answering that question. If they make things right, yes [I will fight for them]," he continued.
"I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want. As I said even before this fight, I walked into this fight knowing I could have lost this fight.
“It’s going to be on my way. I’m going to make the call on how it ends. It won’t end on somebody’s rules. It will end on my rules. If this is the end, I am happy.
"From where I came from, I have done a lot. Some people might not see that, but I have done it and I am very happy about that. I’m proud of myself."
