UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has lost out on at least $7million by refusing to sign a new deal with the promotion.
Dana White, who runs the UFC, has said Ngannou's new deal would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight in history, even beating out pay-per-view superstar Brock Lesnar. But the Cameroonian decided against inking a further contract with the promotion, instead deciding to test out free agency.
He last fought in January of last year, beating Ciryl Gane in the last bout of his contract to kick-start tense negotiations after he earned just $600,000 to defend his title with an injured knee against the No.1 heavyweight in the world. Since, he has been recovering from said injury and waiting out his now completed contract, deciding ultimately to leave.
“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,” Ngannou said during The MMA Hour last year. “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 $7 million that I left on the table, but I’m still happy with my $600,000, because I still fight for what I care for. 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.”
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Ngannou hasn't spoken since White announced that he was being unceremoniously dumped from the promotion on Saturday night, but will break his silence on tonight's episode of The MMA Hour. His former boss claimed that he didn't want to "risk" his status as the top heavyweight in the world by facing Jon Jones, and announced that the former light-heavyweight will now face Gane instead.
“We offered a deal to Francis that would’ve made him the highest paid heavyweight in the history of the company, more than Brock Lesnar, more than everybody," White said when giving an update on Ngannou's UFC future. "And he turned the deal down. We’re going to release him from his contract, give up our right to match.
"He can go wherever he wants, do whatever he wants. I think Francis is at a place right now, where he doesn’t want to take a risk. He feels like he can fight lesser opponents and make more money. The guy weighs over 300lb, just had knee surgery, hasn’t had a real training camp. I think that probably has a lot to do with it."
