Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou gave his side of the story as to what went wrong in the negotiation process with the promotion on a new deal, which led to him becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Ngannou spoke with journalist Ariel Helwani on his show The MMA Hour on Tuesday and explained some of the things he was asking for in his new contract, that the UFC ultimately refused to budge on, ultimately forcing the 36-year-old Batié, Cameroon native to look for opportunities elsewhere.
“What I’ve learned is you don’t go to the table of negotiation expecting to have everything that you want. But at least you want your partner, the other side, to show your willingness or to at least try,” Ngannou said (h/t MMA Junkie). “I asked for a lot of things, which doesn’t mean I was expecting all those things. I was expecting at least one or two of those things. I asked for the right of a sponsorship, which we’ve been ripped of. We can’t have sponsorship. I asked for health insurance. (I) couldn’t have (it). I asked for a fighter advocate, somebody in the board meeting who will advocate for the fighters. I asked for that. I couldn’t have those stuffs that I asked for. I just wanted (them) to know that there is something that I do want. I also wanted them to think (about) that, at least in consideration. In that contract, I’m not free. In that contract, I’m not independent contractor. I have no right. I have no power. I hand over all the power to you guys. I’ve seen in the past how you can utilize your power on me and I don’t want that to happen again.”
.@francis_ngannou explains what he wanted, other than money, from the UFC in negotiations -- #TheMMAHour
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 17, 2023
The list included:
• The right to sponsorship
• Health insurance
• A fighter advocate to represent the fighters in meetings
https://t.co/nl825Yai3y pic.twitter.com/5dwxY0Sx67
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