Francis Ngannou is no longer UFC heavyweight champion.
That might be considered a step down for any other fighter in his position, but “The Predator” was able to leverage his success in the combat sports arena to score an industry-changing contract with PFL. In addition, the Cameroonian slugger established himself as a legitimate threat in the boxing world with a career performance against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last Oct. in Riyadh.
In short, Ngannou gambled on himself and won big — but not without a fair share of resistance along the way.
“I had a lot of controversial opinions about my career decisions because most of those things was about my career this year,” Ngannou said on his YouTube channel. “Then negotiations with different organizations that were interested. A lot of them were just trying to navigate the narrative and potentially get some promotion. We have a lot of different people — some two faces.”
Ngannou, 37, suggested ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong was two-faced after their meeting of the minds back in early 2023.
“It’s part of the business and that’s something that I learned this year — how this business can be nasty,” Ngannou continued. “You have people who pretend to be something that they are not. But it’s a good part of the learning process. Becoming a fighter and stepping into that position is something you are not educated about. Most fighters never get educated, and that’s why for the most part, fighters keep getting screwed.”
Just ask this guy.