Ngannou's Negotiations

Ahead of one of the biggest heavyweight fights of all time, Francis Ngannou is making headlines for other reasons. With only one fight left on his contract, it is a wonder why the UFC is not extending this man who has potential to be the face of the company. Who’s at fault here? It depends on who you ask. Francis’ agent claims that he has not heard from the UFC headquarters in months. This is definitely not standard procedure when dealing with a champion headlining an upcoming Pay-Per-View. However, Francis is far from the standard fighter. He hasn’t been shy to share thoughts on his pay. Francis has said he deserves a raise similar to the likes of Conor McGregor and the Paul brother’s in boxing recently. The counterargument to that is he has not proven himself to be as big of a draw as those previously mentioned. January 22 could be the night he proves that wrong as it will be his first title defense. Francis and his agent have maintained the argument that this battle is not just over contract money, though. He also wants to carve out a boxing clause in his contract. Basically, he wants to have a money fight similar to Mayweather-Mcgregor with Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. That is where this negotiation takes a turn.

MMA fighters have recently been getting paid well for switching over to boxing. The problem with that is they have been damaging their reputation as fighters with bad performances. Francis already lacks a lot of the technical skills in MMA, but he can make up for it with his immense power. The boxing ring could expose that lack of technique, especially if he gets the matchups he is asking for. Why would Dana care about this? Well to start, Ngannou is currently looked at as the baddest dude on the planet. Having a star like that in the UFC is great for business. That star power could diminish quickly with a bad boxing performance. Next, Dana White does not want anymore UFC guys boxing while under contract. See his recent feud with Jake Paul on Twitter if you have questions about that one. Finally, Francis is 35 and likely negotiating one of his last contracts. Easy to see why he wants the big payday to set him up for retirement. On the other hand, one can see why the UFC would be hesitant. Now, how will this end?

Your guess is as good as mine at this point. I think it depends on his performance against Cyril Gane later this month. With all this drama hanging over his head, will the pressure get to him fighting against his former sparring partner? Who knows. Historically, signs point to yes, but Francis is not like most. The stakes are high and so is the firepower in this one. Get your popcorn ready for January 22nd.

Geek: GOOSEY