Richard Schaefer doesn’t agree with Francis Ngannou’s decision to part ways with the UFC.
UFC President Dana White announced that the promotion could not reach an agreement with Francis Ngannou, heavyweight champion, and will be ending ties with him. Instead, Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight champion, will take on Ciryl Gane, the former interim champion, for the vacant heavyweight belt at UFC 285. Schaefer is the former CEO and boxing promoter of Golden Boy Promotions. He spoke out about Jones’ recent events. Schaefer suggested that Ngannou had made a mistake in not signing with the UFC.
” “I believe he is a tremendous athlete and have some big fights in front of him. I personally feel that he made a mistake by not working out his UFC deal,” Schaefer said to Ariel Helwani, on The MMA Hour . It’s his choice. That’s what he is doing and the world goes on, and UFC goes on. There’s going to be other big fights and there are other heavyweights lined up to fight the winner of this fight, to fight Jon after he beats Ciryl. We’ll continue fighting the best .”
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Although Ngannou’s sudden departure from UFC is not surprising, it was not unexpected. Ngannou, heavyweight champion, was vocal about his concerns with promotion. He complained about the pay and control as well as the lack of respect from the UFC. Ngannou was unable to agree to terms with UFC to continue to fight in boxing. He wanted to be able to compete with Tyson Fury, the heavyweight champion. It is not clear if this was the reason Ngannou turned down lucrative UFC offers, although Schaefer hopes so.
“Maybe, he was a huge star in UFC but did he transcend UFC?” Schaefer stated. “I don’t know. I don’t know enough. He’s an amazing athlete and I believe he has a lot of charisma. I love his work so much, that I wish him the very best. I just hope he’s not going to go into boxing, but that he’s going to find whatever big fights he’s looking for…
“I wish that fight fans, sports fans, would finally understand, if you have an MMA athlete go and compete against a boxer in a boxing ring, the boxer is going to win,” Schaefer continued, explaining his disdain for the boxing move. It’s obvious. And if you have a boxer go and compete in an octagon, the MMA guy, under MMA rules, the MMA guys is going to win. These are two completely different sports. I do not see how Francis Ngannou can beat Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, or Oleksandr Uzyk…
“So if that is the case, why do I need to see it? Why do I need to pay $80 or $100 to see a fight when I know who is going to win? I’m not interested in that.”
What comes next for Ngannou isn’t certain, but what he’s leaving behind is: one of the biggest superfights in MMA history. Ngannou has been preparing for Jones to face him for over 2 years. If Jones had resigned with UFC that would have made Jones the next fighter. Ngannou and Jones now make up the Most Wanted fights list. But while fans may lament what was lost, Schaefer says he and Jones are strictly focused on what’s to come.
” “I don’t believe there’s any disappointment,” Schaefer stated. You can just move on, and that’s all it takes. You can’t predict the future. We never know what the future will bring. [Jon] is focused on this fight. It’s a big fight. I do believe that these are the two best heavyweights fighting each other and it’s a massive fight, so that’s what the focus is. You can’t go and cry over what could have been or things like that.
“For whatever reason, Francis decided to step aside. I respect that and wish him all the best. And who knows if down the road that fight is going to happen? Ciryl is my personal favorite, given his skills and youth. It’s a bigger fight that Francis would have been. Certainly more of a challenge, and I think it just shows you how determined Jon Jones is to become heavyweight champion. For him it was never, ‘Oh, I’m not going to fight this guy or I’m not going to fight that guy.’ For him it was, ‘I don’t really care. It is my goal to compete for the title of heavyweight champion. Just bring whoever it is.’ That’s why he’s the GOAT. That’s what GOATs do.”
UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/16/23557762/jon-jones-advisor-richard-schaefer-francis-ngannou-made-a-mistake-by-not-re-signing-with-ufc?rand=96749
