“You CAN HAVE head-to-head sponsors,” Chael Sonnen responds to Francis Ngannou’s rant on sponsorship struggles with the UFC
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Francis Ngannou- Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen is an arch defender of the UFC and with that said, Francis Ngannou has tough competition on the opposite side of his debates against the UFC’s policies. Sonnen is a retired MMA fighter who has touched his peak several times by being a multiple-time UFC title challenger and a semi-finalist for one of Bellator MMA’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. Sonnen is now a Youtuber with over a million subscribers, a sports analyst for ESPN MMA and a commentator for Eagle FC.
Ngannou is the reigning defending UFC heavyweight champion who last fought at UFC 270 by defeating the former teammate and previously undefeated Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision, which was Ngannou’s first-ever decision win since he always had a 100% finish rate before that. Since January 2022, Ngannou has been out of action due to his knee injuries that have now undergone successful surgery. Ngannou’s UFC contract is also on the verge of being renegotiated ever since the Cameroonian mixed martial artist has raised his voice for better pay and more opportunities.
Chael Sonnen claims that the rules to having sponsorships have been properly dictated by UFC President Dana White
In one of his recent tweets on his official Twitter handle, Ngannou went on a full-scale outrage yet again for the lack of fighter pay and also another associated issue, sponsorship deals. Ngannou has expressed that there should be an allowance for bringing the representation of at least 2 independent sponsors inside the octagon. Ngannou also narrated an incident in which he lost over a million dollar deal because of CRYPTO.COM, UFC’s official sponsorship partner in crypto-currency.
On his official Youtube channel, Chael Sonnen talks about the fighter pay and sponsorship deals in relation to Ngannou’s tweets. Sonnen kept his part of the debate civil without any disrespect to the supporters of the opposing point of view and concluded his line of thoughts by defending the UFC.
“Any fighter may have a sponsorship including ones that go head to head with presenting sponsors of the UFC,” says Sonnen “[But] They cannot wear those logos while on the UFC cameras, now that’s a very different conversation…if you’re going to follow the TV model or the sports model, there’s no exception to these rules… the rules therefore that I just stated, by the UFC, are clear for anybody to see. They’ve been explained by a number of fighters. They have been explained by the President of the organization by the man named Dana White…” Sonnen concludes.
What do you make of this whole conversation around fighter pay now bringing up the sponsorship deals as well? Whose side are you on here, Sonnen or Ngannou based on this debate? Do you think Ngannou will be able to re-sign with the UFC on better terms OR will he leave the company in order to seek what he thinks is his right? Where do you put Ngannou amongst the most powerful punchers that ever fought in MMA history?
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)