The Cameroonian terminated the contract with the fighting company and became a free agent
Cameroonian Francis Ngannou vacated the title UFC world champion in the heavyweight division. Francis terminated the contract with the fighting company, refused to further protect the belt and became a free agent.
“We have been negotiating with Ngannou for more than two years. We offered Francis a deal that would have made him the highest paid heavyweight in company history, but he turned down the deal,” said UFC CEO Dana White.
“Right now, Francis doesn’t want to take a big risk. He feels he can fight weaker opponents and make more money, so we’ll let him do that and release him from our contract. He can go where he wants and do whatever he wants.”
Ngannou was scheduled to appear at UFC 285 in Las Vegas on March 4. Now the central event of the event will be the fight between Jon Jones and Cyril Gun.
Previously, Francis Ngannou said he was ready to fight boxing champion Tyson Fury. The Cameroonian is willing to wait for Fury to settle his boxing affairs.
Promoter Bob Arum believes Fury vs. Ngannou could make more money than Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor in 2017, which had a record 4.2 million PPV sales.
Last year, Ngannou defeated Cyril Gan at UFC 270 to defend his world heavyweight title. The Cameroonian won the championship belt in March 2021 by knocking out Stipe Miocic in the second round.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
