Ngannou is out of the UFC! He would be the highest paid heavyweight fighter in history, Dana White said. So why did he turn down the contract?

The now thirty-six-year-old Francis Ngannou has been talking for some time about the fact that it’s uncertain whether he will extend his contract in the UFC. Now it’s clear, Dana White himself has confirmed that despite an excellent offer, the heavyweight has decided not to extend his contract.

Last January was the last time we saw Francis Ngannou in the cage. Back then, the French-Cameroonian fighter beat Ciryl Gane on points and showed that he was the best heavyweight fighter.

Of course, not only after that, he widely criticized the UFC management and the set contracts, which are not very friendly for the fighters, not only in terms of financial terms.

That’s also why he made it clear that it’s not certain that he will renew in the UFC. His contract expires this January and it is now clear that there will be no extension.

Dana White revealed this at the press conference after the last tournament and made it clear his exasperation with the whole situation, which goes largely behind him as well.

“I think Francis has gotten to the point where he doesn’t want to take that many risks. He thinks he’s in a good position now where he can fight easier opponents for a lot of money. We’ll let him do that.

We’ve released him from his contract and even waived the make-up clause, so he’s really a free fighter and can go anywhere he wants. He can do whatever he wants. That’s the way it is,” White said.

He also made sure to mention that the organization offered a very high financial consideration indeed, but the experienced fighter still decided not to sign anything.

“We have been working on a new contract with Francis for almost two years. We got to the point where we offered him Jon Jones, who is not only in my opinion the best fighter of all time. Jones is ready to fight and has made it clear that he will fight literally anyone.

We offered Francis a contract that would make him the highest paid heavyweight fighter in UFC history. He would have more than Brock Lesnar and anyone else you can think of. But he refused. We’ve come to a point I’ve talked about several times. If you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to be here,” he added.

Source: MMA Shorties, UFC