“ONE can give him the biggest offer,” CEO Chatri Sityodtong will make Francis Ngannou an offer he cannot refuse
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong wants to sign Francis Ngannou. In the future, he wants to co-promote boxing
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CEO of ONE Championship will make an enticing offer for Francis Ngannou (Image Courtesy - MMA Junkie, ONE FC)
ONE Championship will feature an event in Colorado featuring the trilogy bout between Demetrius Johnson and Adriano Moraes. The fighters have a victory over each other, and the third fight will determine the true winner of the trilogy. Moraes became the first fighter to knock out Johnson in 2021. The CEO of ONE, Chatri Sityodtong, came on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour to promote the event. Chatri talked about in detail on meeting Francis Ngannou for contract negotiations.
Chatri Sityodtong said, “He has a bunch of offers on the table. He’s waiting for our final offer. I am going to meet Francis this Saturday. He and I will sit down and talk, and for sure; ONE can give him the biggest offer on the table out of all his bids, but it has to work for him. It has to work for us. I just believe that meeting somebody, you get the energy.”
He also talked about the mindful nature of Francis Ngannou in doing business deals. He told Helwani, “From the few interactions I’ve had with Francis, he’s very thoughtful and methodical and careful. At the same time, he’s a very principled man. That’s one thing I’ve learned about him. He’s very principled. He does things on principle. A dollar here, a dollar there won’t sway him.”
Dana White said that Ngannou will never return to the UFC. Ngannou’s options remain less as his huge money demand may have led Bellator and other MMA promotions to offer a deal. It appears that ONE Championship is the best remaining option for Ngannou. Chatri remains confident in striking a deal with Ngannou.
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Chatri Sityodtong wants to co-promote after securing Francis Ngannou deal
The CEO of ONE Championship is interested in co-promoting events with other organizations. He talks about the ability to co-promote other disciplines other than MMA. He hopes to secure a deal with Francis Ngannou and will look to co-promote boxing events with him.
He said, “If we did boxing, we would be the co-promoter with him. One of the big differences at ONE versus a UFC as a comparison point, at ONE we offer multiple disciplines. It’s not just mixed martial arts. So we had a WBC boxing world title before in ONE. I think this was 2017 or 2018.”
Chatri believes that ONE remains the best option for Ngannou to continue his MMA career and pursue a boxing career. Ngannou is persistent about boxing in the future. However, Chatri thinks the variety of Martial Arts showcased at ONE can sway Ngannou and other boxing promoters.
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Nidhin Shibu
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