Francis Ngannou has been told by UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta he should be going nuts with the UFC over ongoing contractual issues.
Ngannou fought out of his contract when he defended his heavyweight title for the first time against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 earlier this month.
'The Predator' was refusing to sign a new deal heading into the bout, feeling "unprotected" by terms offered by the promotion and demanding more money.
He also requested a clause that would allow him to box heavyweight stars such as Tyson Fury whilst under contract with the UFC.
And UFC veteran Iaquinta has praised Ngannou for sticking to his morals by turning down the promotion's offers.
“Good for Francis, guy stuck to his guns. Francis is the guy that should be going nuts right now," Iaquinta told The MMA Hour.
UFC president Dana White was absent from the octagon to present Ngannou with the belt after his win and also skipped the post-fight press conference.
And Iaquinta said something "crazy" must have been happening for White to miss the main event.
“What the hell was going on in the back! What was going on? Who was in the back? We’ve gotta find out. I want to know what happened in the back," he continued.
"I need to know. That must have been something crazy going on back there. It must have been a fight. Someone else must have fought back there.
"Something must have happened. We’ve got to find out what happened.”
White insisted he didn't intentionally snub Ngannou after his win and was dealing with "stuff" going on backstage during the fight.
The heavyweight champion will be sidelined for most of 2022 as he needs surgery for torn knee ligaments he suffered whilst training for UFC 270.
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When asked if he would rather face Jon Jones or boxing star Tyson Fury next, Ngannou said he would rather fight 'The Gypsy King' as Jones' UFC future is uncertain.
Ngannou owes the UFC one more fight due to the champion's clause, but is free to leave in December as the contract he signed in 2017 cannot extend five years.
And Ngannou has been told to consider other options after earning $600,000 for his title defence.
"Of course, he should look at his other options. To me, the man in MMA getting paid $500,000 to $600,000 is a freaking joke," MMA legend Mark Hunt told Submission Radio.
"I just explained to you that I got paid $950,000 six years ago and I never had the belt, so right there goes to show you how much these guys are getting exploited."
