"They Were Holding Me Captive” - Francis Ngannou Reveals UFC Contract Issues
Francis Ngannou has revealed the methods used by the UFC to keep him from becoming a free agent, including the per-fight pay included in his final contract offer.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion finally ended his free agency earlier this month when it was announced he signed with the PFL, but things have been anything but simple for him since then. Dana White made an effort to overshadow Ngannou’s announcement by sharing a number of major UFC fight bookings on the same day, and both the UFC President and Jon Jones have been actively taking shots at “The Predator” online and during interviews.
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Ngannou has seemingly done his best to remain cordial in his comments about the UFC during the aftermath of him signing with the PFL, but now the former heavyweight champion seems willing to pull back the curtain on how the company treated him.
“I had an eight-fight contract, and I wanted to fulfill that contract," Ngannou said. "But they wouldn’t allow me – seeing as I wasn’t going to sign another contract, because they knew if I fulfill that contract I’m automatically free. They use some kind of dirty game…Before I decided to speak up about this, I realized that if I just did not speak up, not only they are going to change the narrative but I will not take the pressure on me. I’m just me, and they are them. They are massive. And I couldn’t fight that, and I started to see how they promote even the interim title by saying I don’t want to fight…I think that’s when I decided to start [speaking] up about it.”
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In addition to claiming that Ngannou wasn't willing to fight, White has also stated that the contract the 36-year-old was offered would have made him the highest paid fighter in the UFC.
“The Predator” maintains that his contract negotiations were never about the money involved, but he also remembers the much lower number he was offered before being a UFC champion.
“The new contract was more money, but I was like ‘I don’t want more money, just give me the fight that I can fulfill my contract, my obligation, and be free. Therefore I can renegotiate as a free man. I can’t be locked here and negotiate, I’m not negotiating. You’re just telling me what I will get'…They were holding me captive until that, and then now they’re trying to act like I want more money. I didn’t want more money. If it was about more money I would have signed the contract."
"The Predator" made $600,000 for his UFC 270 fight with Ciryl Gane as a defending champion. That was for Ngannou's last UFC fight. Ngannou said when the UFC was holding him "captive," the fights were for $100k-120k.
Ngannou’s latest comments will almost certainly prompt a response from the UFC President, but recently White has been busy with his very public back-and-forth with UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling as well as trying to coax Tyson Fury into fighting Jon Jones.
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