Conor McGregor targets ONE Championship CEO after promotion bows out of negotiations with Francis Ngannou
Conor McGregor took aim at ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong after the Asia-based promotion bowed out of negotiations with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
ONE Championship is set to make its long-awaited debut in the United States on May 5. Emanating from the 1stBank Center in Denver, ONE Fight Night 10 will feature a ONE flyweight world title headliner as reigning champion Demetrious Johnson defends against former titleholder Adriano Moraes.
Weeks before the historic event, Sityodtong revealed that he had a meeting lined up with Francis Ngannou to present the promotions final offer. As it turns out, the final offer, reportedly worth a guaranteed $20 million, was never presented as the parties were too far apart on “non-financial” issues.
“After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer… Francis is a good guy and a good champion,” Sityodtong told the South China Morning Post. “I wish him continued success and happiness. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”
Conor McGregor Trashes ONE CEO in a Since-Deleted Tweet
Responding to the news story on social media, Conor McGregor delivered his scathing take on the situation, targeting ONE Championship’s CEO in a now-deleted tweet.
“This chatri guy is a lying dishonorable mouth piece,” McGregor posted. “One championship is not one worth one cent.”
Conor McGregor and ONE Championship have not been on good terms with one another dating back to 2017. In an interview with CNN, Sityodtong suggested that even if the Irishman had become a free agent at some point, he would not have signed him, citing his antics outside of the cage undeniably helped to make him a megastar in the world of combat sports.
If Conor McGregor was a free agent, ONE Championship would not try to sign him. We don’t want somebody to swear at people, throw water bottles, disrespect people, call out people’s wives and children, and – in my opinion – other distasteful stuff that is not representative of true martial arts,” Sityodtong said.
