Francis Ngannou is set to be released from the UFC and will vacate his title after failing to agree a new deal.
Ngannou last defended his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane last January but tore his knee ligaments which left his UFC future uncertain. It was expected that the Cameroon star would return to the octagon against undefeated superstar Jon Jones if he was able to agree a fresh deal with the promotion.
However a poster yesterday was leaked which matched up American Jones in a heavyweight title clash with previous contender Gane, sparking rumours that Ngannou had elected to depart and vacate his title. UFC kingpin Dana White has now confirmed the news at yesterday's press conference, where he suggested Ngannou was offered a new mega-money deal but turned it down.
“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.
"He doesn’t know what’s going to happen with his knee, he’s not getting younger,” White said. “It’s not like this is something that has never happened before. There’s been other guys that have come to us and said I don’t want to compete at this level anymore.”
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Ngannou has been involved in a dispute with the UFC over his pay, which has seen him explore opportunities outside of the UFC before committing to a new deal. The heavyweight champion wants to fight in the boxing ring and requested a clause that he can be released on a temporary basis to pursue lucrative boxing opportunities on the side.
This included a fight with Tyson Fury which could now be back on the cards following his decision to turn his back on the UFC and take on other clashes. And UFC legend Chael Sonnen suggested that his contract demands were unfair and were also unlikely to be agreed to along the stretch.
He believes that that's reasonable," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. "And the reason I tell you it's disrespectful. I don't know what's going to come in, that's a risk every time, but I can know what's going out. And you want to talk? I have 556 of you and I do this every Saturday. And that's where I tell you the lack of respect comes. That's silly and that's ridiculous, and that's not the way it's done."
