The specifics are unclear of what exactly Francis Ngannou is demanding from the UFC in order to sign a new deal to stay with the organization, but it’s been well-documented that one priority on the champion’s wish list is the opportunity to pursue boxing in a potential matchup against Tyson Fury.
Ngannou fought out his current contract with a win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 and remains at an impasse with the promotion. So far, there are no signs that the two sides will find common ground before he becomes a free agent.
While the chance to land a multi-million dollar payday for a fight against Fury may not be the only thing Ngannou wants, fellow heavyweight Curtis Blaydes doesn’t see why the UFC can’t at least allow him to do that much.
“I believe that’s what the issue is,” Blaydes stated recently in The Fighter vs. The Writer. “You opened the door when you let [Conor] McGregor do it.
” I don’t think there is any reason that Francis should not be permitted to do this. McGregor was able to do it. McGregor did it .”
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In 2017, when McGregor became the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history, he was allowed to sign a fight against pound-for-pound boxing king Floyd Mayweather. It was the biggest fight in UFC history.
McGregor’s star power obviously made the fight against Mayweather very intriguing, but the UFC still had to sign off to give him permission because he was under an exclusive contract. While he lost to Mayweather by 10th-round TKO, McGregor reportedly still earned north of $100 million for the fight.
Now Ngannou hopes to fulfill his boyhood dreams by moving to boxing. Fury has expressed an interest in the fight.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the UFC is nearly as interested this time around, which is why Blaydes is so confused by the situation.
“There is a chance of injury but it’s okay that injuries could happen at any time,” Blaydes stated. They can also happen in practices. That’s not a good enough reason, especially when he can potentially earn [a lot for both sides], even if it’s only $5 million.
“That’s a lot of money. I don’t blame Francis wanting to take the boxing match. I cannot blame him.”
Ngannou’s continued battle with the UFC over his contract has also left the heavyweight division in upheaval as contenders like Blaydes await the opportunity to one day fight for gold. In addition, Ngannou’s knee surgery in March is expected to keep him sidelined approximately nine or 10 months. That means even if Ngannou comes to terms with the UFC on a new contract, he won’t likely return to action until early 2023.
In that regard, Blaydes hopes that Ngannou and the UFC can come to a decision on his future soon so the rest of the heavyweights are able to figure out what’s next.
” I hope they can get it sorted out. That slows down everything for everybody else below in the division,” Blaydes stated. “If Francis has the belt and they’re arguing for a year, then you’ve got to do the interim thing again and you hope that he comes back. It makes it a lot harder for guys like me to possibly to project a pathway to get to the belt if I don’t know what’s happening with the guy who does have the belt.
” Then there are still guys like Jon [Jones], who we don’t understand what they’re doing. We’ve still got Stipe [Miocic], we don’t know what he’s doing. If we could predict whether he would be joining the UFC, it would be easier for us guys to make projections. It doesn’t matter what, I hope that they reach an agreement and don’t drag it out .
Blaydes, for his part, believes that cooler heads will prevail and Ngannou, will return to UFC.
“I know he says it’s not about the money, but that has to be a small factor.” Blaydes said. Blaydes said, “I know he would like a bit more money. I believe they will work out the details.” I think Francis has another two or three really amazing years at heavyweight, and then after that it will be a little bit of a decline because you’re getting older. He’s getting older. He’s what, 36?
“He’s got some prime years left and I think the UFC wants those years. You want him under the promotion when he still has the juice. They’ll figure it out. He has the belt. That helps.”
