Francis Ngannou is not signing with ONE Championship.
Promotion head honcho Chatri Sityodtong met with the former UFC heavyweight champion over the weekend but claims they failed to get a deal done because their respective longterm goals were not “fully aligned on non-financial matters.”
Ngannou, however, later called MMA reporter Ariel Helwani to insist his verbal commitment to another organization — which could result in a signed contract as early as this week — was the deciding factor in passing on the “biggest” ONE deal.
“Francis’s side of the story is a little bit different, he was very transparent,” Helwani said. “Francis is very close to signing a new deal with another promotion. According to Francis, he was very upfront about this, so they left the meeting on good terms. Both of them came to an understanding that because he had already kind of verbally committed to someone, more than likely he’s not going to ONE.”
This is not the first time we’ve heard there was a “contract pending.”
With ONE Championship off the table, BKFC watching its wallet, and Bellator MMA only “50/50” on wanting the former UFC champ, who earned his Endeavor release earlier this year, it would suggest PFL MMA is the frontrunner to land the 36 year-old “Predator,” though nothing is official at this time.