A former champion has the door to the UFC closed forever? Ngannou gets a radical answer from White’s boss

Francis Ngannou is currently without a contract. Until recently, the UFC heavyweight champion could have had the biggest fight of his career in March, but instead he’s free, has no contract, and has one new security in his life. He won’t be looking at the best MMA organization in the world.

The UFC faces one of the biggest events of the year this weekend. For after three years, the legendary Jon Jones is coming into action to challenge Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. The man who took part in the last title fight in this division.

That time, however, he was defeated by Francis Ngannou, despite an injured knee. Negotiations ensued for a new contract with the very champion who would become the highest paid heavyweight in history.

But Ngannou heroically refused. Money wasn’t everything to him. He also wanted a certain amount of freedom, to have more sponsorship deals, to be able to fight outside of the UFC, and he wanted fighters to have their health insurance paid for.

However, the UFC, led by boss Dana White, didn’t budge an inch and offered nothing but money. So Ngannou parted ways with the organization, losing not only his fight with Jones, but possibly other star wars as well.

Jones himself stood up for Ngannou, even stating that he hoped their paths would cross someday. But it’s now more than clear that it won’t happen under the UFC’s cover. In fact, White has denied that Ngannou will ever feature in the organization again.

“No. No. We’ve been negotiating with him for years, but that’s over. Definitely over. He’s never going to be in the UFC again. Yes, I often say you’re never supposed to say never, but in this case I’m saying never. We tried it,” he told ESPN.

So Ngannou now faces an uncertain future. However, he has no shortage of offers. Especially in the boxing world. A fight with champion Tyson Fury is on the cards.

Source: UFC, Sherdog, BJPenn.com