Francis Ngannou wants to get what he believes he’s worth financially. From one champion to another, Khabib Nurmagomedov has some advice.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight king in Nurmagomedov made out pretty well for himself before hanging up the gloves in 2020. At present, the Cameroonian Heavyweight titlist is hoping to do the same after collecting $600,000 for his win UFC 270 title defense against Ciryl Gane.
Ahead of the fight, there was interest expressed between Ngannou and top boxer Tyson Fury regarding a match in the squared circle. If it can come to fruition, Nurmagomedov doesn’t see any reason for the “baddest man on the planet” not to give it a shot.
“[Fury] is the best right now. I don’t know. I think Fury is on a different level, in boxing,” Nurmagomedov told Sky Sports. “If they fight in the MMA of course, Ngannou has a chance now — we can see from his last fight.
“If they fight in the UFC yeah, Fury doesn’t have too many chances. But in boxing, I don’t see anyone even touching his face — maybe Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk is going to be a tough challenge for Fury. But Ngannou? I think he has to stay with the UFC. But if he goes to boxing and he’s making 50 or 60 million dollars — he has to. Why not?”
Despite a great effort to defeat Gane, Ngannou didn’t come out of the bout unscathed. “The Predator” went into the bout with a torn MCL and damaged ACL that he’ll be getting surgery on in March. While he recovers, it’s safe to assume he and his team will continue negotiating with the UFC as his believed contract expiration period of December approaches.