Francis Ngannou unmoved by speculation regarding future: ‘Don’t panic, everything is under control’
Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou appears unmoved amid continued speculation regarding his fighting future in the sport, claiming that “everything is under control”.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined from active competition since headlining UFC 270 back in January of last year, defeating Ciryl Gane in a successful title unification victory.
However, in January of this year, Batié native, Ngannou was issued his official release from the UFC, having completed his contractual obligations with the organization back in December of last year. Granted his official release from the promotion, Ngannou was stripped of his heavyweight title and removed from the official division rankings to boot.
Amid continued speculation regarding his fighting future following his UFC exit, Ngannou, who recently saw talks with ONE Championship break down over the course of the weekend – is alleged to have rejected a guaranteed $20,000,000 deal from the Chatri Sityodtong-led organization.
“He (Francis Ngannou) was asking for a seat at the board of directors, he was asking for him to determine his opponent’s pay,” Chatri Sityodtong said. “We offered him $20,000,000 guaranteed, but the money wasn’t enough, he wanted all of these other non-financial terms that didn’t make a lot of sense.”
“We obviously can’t give a seat at the board of directors, that doesn’t make any sense, he would be a fish out of water [in that position],” Sityodtong continued.
Francis Ngannou unmoved about future MMA return
Off the back of his failed move to Singapore-based promotion, ONE Championship, Ngannou – who holds a verbal agreement with another mixed martial arts promotion ahead of an expected move, has been linked with a landing with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) in the time since.
Appearing to remain calm on his uncertain future, Ngannou urged his followers to “have faith” amid the period of uncertainty.
“Don’t panic guys, everything is under control,” Francis Ngannou tweeted. #HaveFaith”
