Just hours before Francis Ngannou was scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane, his manager received an e=mail from the UFC threatening a potential lawsuit over supposed talks with Jake Paul’s business partner.
According to Ngannou, the email was sent to his manager Marquel Martin, who is an agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), on the day of his fight at UFC 270 with allegations that they had been in contact with Nakisa Bidarian — the former chief financial officer for the UFC and now the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul.
“I went into this fight and dressed up. I walked into the gym and waited for my coach and manager. They were like ‘wow,’ and I was like, “What’s the matter?” Ngannou explained on The MMA Hour. They tell me they received an email from UFC stating that they are going to sue Nakisa for talking with him [Bidarian]” and I am confused as to who Nakisa is.
” They told me that I didn’t really know him but that he was a member of Jake Paul’s staff. I’m like is he a promoter or something? They’re like ‘no’ but once again, I don’t know. They don’t seem to want to speak to me .”
Sources close to the situation confirmed the e-mail’s authenticity when speaking with MMA Fighting on Monday.
In an ongoing verbal war with Paul, UFC President Dana White insulted Bidarian in public while admitting that he had previously worked for promotion.
“If you’ve ever watched one of [Jake’s] fights and you see when they do the staredown, the guy that’s standing in the middle with the warlock nose and the big wart on his face, apparently that’s his manager,” White said in a video posted to Twitter.
“That guy used to be an accountant for me, and let’s just say this — he no longer works for me, and I think he’s a scumbag.”
Despite White’s sympathies, Ngannou did not know who Bidarian was or that he had engaged in talks that could have been considered legal.
“I don’t know who the hell is this guy, first of all,” Ngannou said. “I don’t know him, I wouldn’t recognize him if you put him in front of me. He’s not a promoter, and I don’t think it is impossible to have a conversation about boxing with others. I speak about boxing every day
Ngannou has been stated numerous times that he wanted to crossover to boxing while discussing a potential showdown with reigning heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Of course, Ngannou has also been engaged in a contentious battle with the UFC over his contract, which came to an end following the conclusion of his fight with Gane this past weekend.
Due to a champion’s clause in the deal, Ngannou won’t actually become a free agent until after December 2022 unless he comes to terms with the UFC on a new deal.
While Ngannou said that UFC tried to reach a deal with him over the week leading up to the event but he did not speak to anyone after Ngannou’s unanimous victory.
” “Nothing happened after the fight,” Ngannou stated. “A couple things happened before the fight but nothing happened after the fight.”
Ngannou also detailed how his manager received a strange text message from an anonymous Las Vegas area code that Martin later posted on his Instagram account.
The message contained racist comments and hinted at Martin’s personal information, suggesting that it wasn’t spam.
Ngannou did not want to speculate about who sent the message, as there was no evidence.
” On Saturday morning my manager received an unknown message. It was extremely strange,” Ngannou stated. We don’t have [who sent the message], but the message we received was extremely bizarre, racist and insulting.
“I think somebody is very pissed off, which means we have been doing the right thing. I don’t have any guess since I don’t have any proof.”
Despite everything that’s happened — including White not putting the UFC heavyweight title around his waist and then bolting from the arena before appearing at the post-fight press conference — Ngannou says he would still return to fight for the promotion again if his terms are met.
Ngannou stated that his requirements aren’t solely based on finances, but more about the ability to work as an independent contractor because that’s the way the UFC labels all athletes.
” You never know what is happening in business,” Ngannou stated. Ngannou said that even if the outcome was good, it doesn’t mean they can do anything .
” I just know what my needs are. I know at some point, one way or another I always have what I want. Because I fight for it.”
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