Francis Ngannou Reveals How the UFC Cost Him $1 Million Because of Crypto Sponsorship

Francis Ngannou and the UFC haven’t had a good relationship for a while now. The Cameroonian heavyweight has been dealing with business frictions with the promotion regarding his pay scale for his fights and endorsements. One of the most publicized aspects of the UFC, the MMA community, has been criticizing the UFC for paying its heavyweight champion a mere $600,000 for a title defense. 

During an appearance on the True Geordie podcast, ‘The Predator’ chronicled how he lost out on a monetary value of a million dollars because of not having a say in how he makes his finances in the UFC. 

Talking about a lack of his own sponsors in the UFC, Francis Ngannou stated, “Unless it’s from the promotion, they cannot put anything. Fighter cannot. So technically, what do you have? You have nothing left. You go there when you go there, you fight and you have nothing. They give you whatever they give you and you have to take it and say thank you, go back home and they expect to get call again. If you don’t get call, you don’t get nothing.“

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 27: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon interacts with media after his victory over Stipe Miocic during the UFC 260 event at UFC APEX on March 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

He continued, “You can’t even do your own business. Recently, they signed a huge deal from Crypto.com. That was a good deal. For them. What for fighters? Nothing, right? But guess what? That deal take money out of my pocket, at least one million.“

He further added, “We had a competitive offer from Coinbase. And then when Crypto.com announcement came out, I’m like listen, guy. We can do this. What do I get out of the Crypto deal?… I don’t have any say, I don’t have any money about it…“

Read More: Who is Francis Ngannou’s Mother?

What’s next for Francis Ngannou? 

The Cameroonian’s last fight was at UFC 270, where he successfully defended his title for the first time. With his management team and the UFC reaching an impasse on the future of his career in the promotion, the champ has gotten surgery for his knee and will probably be out for most of this year. 

The UFC heavyweight champ seems to have had enough of his troubles with the UFC and is looking to make a huge paycheck in the world of boxing. With a lot of the previous talk about Ngannou facing WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury, it looks as though it is one step closer to materializing. 

After Tyson Fury won the fight against Dillian Whyte, he stated that he wanted to fight Francis Ngannou in an exhibition match with hybrid rules.

Undoubtedly, Ngannou vs Fury will be one of the greatest crossover fight in combat sports history if it ever comes to fruition. 

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