Former undisputed heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has claimed the UFC had attempted to “freeze” him out of active competition with “some dirty game” – in the wake of his long-standing contract dispute with his former employers.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion with the Dana White-led promotion, departed the UFC back in January of this year following the completion of his contractual obligations back in December last.
Fighting out his contract with the organization and electing against signing a new, multi-fight deal with the UFC, Ngannou’s most recent professional outing came back in January of last year atop a UFC 270 card in Anaheim, California – unifying the heavyweight titles in a unanimous decision win against then-interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane.
Earlier this month, however, the Cameroonian confirmed a new multi-fight deal to link up with the Peter Murray-led, PFL (Professional Fighters League) – ahead of a return to competition next year, before a venture to professional boxing later this year.
Francis Ngannou divulges some details on a “dirty game” played by UFC
Sharing details on his dispute with the promotion, Ngannou, who claimed the UFC attempted to “freeze” him during his latter tenure, was offering him “pennies” on that prior contract.
“I had an eight-fight contract and I wanted to fulfill that contract, but they [the UFC] wouldn’t allow me since I wasn’t going to sign another contract because they know that if I fulfill that contract, I’m automatically free,” Francis Ngannou said during an appearance on The Dan LeBatard Show. “They used some kind of dirty game there, freeze me out, they knew how much I was getting per fight, it wasn’t much at all, few pennies.”
“They knew I couldn’t make a living out of it so I had to come back and accept that contract,” Francis Ngannou explained. “That was after the Junior dos Santos fight in June 2019. One of the things that was hard about that as well was the pressure they were putting on [me]. I’m just me, and they are them. They are massive.”