Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou has broken his silence after getting repeatedly criticized by Dana White. White and UFC could not reach a contract extension with Francis Ngannou, which led Ngannou to walk away from the UFC. However, after Jon Jones won the UFC title, Dana White was seen taking shots at Ngannou.
In the recent MMA Hour hosted by Ariel Helwani, Francis Ngannou finally fired back at Dana White. Ngannou said, “I’m not a champion because of a piece of metal. I’m a champion for who I am, for what I stand for.” Ngannou is taking his own path after walking away from the UFC. This will also not be the last time where Ngannou and Dana White might take shots at each other.
Francis Ngannou became the UFC Heavyweight Champion in 2021 after beating Stipe Miocic in a rematch. In 2022, he defeated Ciryl Gane and embarked on a contract negotiation with Ngannou rejecting the biggest contract ever for a Heavyweight in the UFC. Ngannou vacated the title and left the UFC after that.
Francis Ngannou says he’s a champion, with or without the UFC belt 🏆 #TheMMAHour
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 15, 2023
“I’m not a champion because of a piece of metal. I’m a champion for who I am, for what I stand for.”
▶️ https://t.co/pVCKmGmwrN pic.twitter.com/o39ic2eGM6
Recently in an interview, Francis Ngannou made his intention to box shortly. In the past, there have been discussions with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder for potential boxing bouts. So, it remains to be seen if one of them will eventually fight Ngannou.
Francis Ngannou says Jon Jones is not helping with fighter Pay discussions
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Francis Ngannou discussed the Fighter Pay discussion and Jon Jones. Ngannou believes Jon Jones has not done enough for the Fighter Pay discussions.
“Was that the first time you were disappointed about Jon?”
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 15, 2023
Francis Ngannou talks about Jon Jones’ changing his tune 😳 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/pVCKmGmwrN pic.twitter.com/KUjNar7cjn
Ngannou said, “I still do believe that in this situation, we could have been fighting on the same side. Having a rivalry at the opening doesn’t [mean we] have to avoid fighting for the same things. Jon, two years ago, was very vocal about the pay, about this, about that. Now, he switched like this. He’s just doing him. That’s his problem.“
Jon Jones had a pay dispute with the UFC in the past, but it all went away when they negotiated a contract for Jones’s Heavyweight debut. When Jones got his contract, Ngannou believed he was selfish and did contribute to other fellow fighters.
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