In particular, Sportskeeda claims that the contract of the current UFC champion with the organization expired at the beginning of this year. Francis Ngannou last fought under the current deal with the league in January last year, successfully unifying the interim and current UFC titles in a five-round fight with his former sparring partner Cyril Gan, however, the contract was automatically extended for one year, since the Cameroonian owned the championship belt.
Ngannou has spent this year rehabilitating from knee surgery and negotiations with the UFC, which apparently stalled, although just a month ago, UFC President Dana White stated verbatim that ‘We are moving with Francis in the right direction and are close to to make a deal. According to the organization’s plan, Francis Ngannou was supposed to return to the octagon on March 4 at UFC 285 in Las Vegas and defend his title against Jon Jones.
Earlier, the UFC champion said that he was dissatisfied with the base fee of five hundred thousand dollars and the lack of the opportunity to fight in professional boxing.