Dana White is confident that’ll he’ll be able to convince Francis Ngannou to sign a new deal with the UFC.
‘The Predator’ is currently at odds with the MMA leader and it seems he could be on the verge of leaving the UFC to become one of the biggest free agents in sport.
Ngannou was paid just $600,000 for his latest fight, a unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
The fight was the last on Ngannou’s current contract, which has been extended due to a championship clause in the deal that ties the Cameroonian KO artist to the UFC for one year or three fights – whatever comes first.
Ngannou is currently recovering from a serious knee injury and has stated his intention to sit out until he and the UFC come to terms on a new deal.
The heavyweight king has expressly said that his dispute with the UFC is not solely about money. Ngannou wants the freedom to take mega-money boxing bouts with the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
Dana White Hopes Francis Ngannou Will Sign A New Deal
While the UFC president is not keen on seeing Ngannou cross over into boxing he is hopeful that he can convince him to re-sign with the promotion.
“Listen, in the history of this company, the only guy that we’ve ever not signed was [Fedor Emelianenko]. I mean, it’s the only guy we could never sign,” White said. “So, you know, I’m hopeful and confident that we can get a deal done with Francis.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)
As of late, the UFC has been making moves to tie down their biggest stars. In recent weeks Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal have signed new contracts that apparently make them two of the top earners in the UFC.
Do you think Dana White will convince Francis Ngannou to re-sign with the UFC?