UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou‘s displeasure with the UFC brass appears to be more severe than most thought, according to his manager Marquel Martin.
Ngannou is set to face Ciryl Gane for his first heavyweight title defense at UFC 270, nearly a year after earning the belt over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. He has had a strained relationship with the UFC brass as he has requested more money now that he’s a champion.
Ngannou has become more vocal about the controversial issue of UFC fighter pay in recent months, much to the displeasure of UFC president Dana White. His manager, Martin has also had his fair share of back-and-forths with White on social media.
During a recent interview on Throwing Down with Renee and Miesha, Martin gave an insight as to how poor things are between the two sides.
“UFC is the best MMA promoter in the game, in the business,” Martin said. “However, where a lot of people don’t want to come out and say or mean is that it has to make sense for the client. It has to make sense for Francis.
“At the end of the day, I work for Francis, and he and I spent a lot of time chatting back and forth and trying to understand, OK, exactly what does that mean for his future, and we’ve had a lot of back and forth with the UFC. But to be honest with you, I haven’t heard back from the UFC since I want to say June.”
Francis Ngannou Is Potentially Fighting For His UFC Future
Ngannou has one more fight left on his deal if he were to beat Gane at UFC 270. If he loses the title, he’ll become a free agent, and re-signing with the UFC seems to be a complicated and unclear proposition.
Ngannou is easily one of the most exciting fighters to compete in the UFC octagon today, and it would be shocking if the promotion opts to let him go. However, the two sides aren’t on the same page when it comes to a new contract.
Do you think the UFC and Francis Ngannou will come to terms on a new contract?