"Fighters keep getting screwed" - Francis Ngannou opens up on "nasty" side of fight business he was exposed to following UFC departure
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has shed light on the upleasant side of the MMA world that he came to know about after parting ways with the UFC.
'The Predator' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, during which he reviewed his journey in 2023. The Cameroonian spoke about various topics, like his departure from the UFC and his thrilling boxing clash against Tyson Fury.
At one point in the video, Ngannou spoke about his experience as a free agent after he cut ties with the UFC. The 37-year-old shared that he learned about the "nasty" aspect of the fight business and also delved into how fighters keep getting taken advantage of in the MMA world:
"We have a lot of different people, some two faces, it's part of the business, right? And that's something that I learned this year, how this business can be nasty. You will have people that pretend to be something which they are not. You will have a lot of things. But it's part of the learning process because becoming a fighter, to step into that position, is smoething... most fighters never get educated to, and that's why, for the most part, fighters keep getting screwed."
Check out Francis Ngannou's comments from the 2:20 mark below:
How did Francis Ngannou do in the UFC?
During his active days in the UFC, Francis Ngannou was a force to be reckoned with in the promotion's heavyweight division.
'The Predator's' run in the UFC last just over six years. During that time, Ngannou competed in 14 fights and got his hand raised in 12 of them.
As a UFC fighter, the Cameroonian defeated several highly skilled fighters, including Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Ciryl Gane, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alistair Overeem, Junsior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski and Curtis Blaydes. Another interesting to note is 11 out of Ngannou's 12 UFC victories came via finishes.
The former heavyweight champion's last octagon outing took place in Janury 2022, when he locked horns agaisnt former training partner Gane for the heavyweight title at UFC 270.
The fight was a back-and-forth affair that lasted the entire 25-minute duration. Ngannou ended up geting the victory via unanimous decision, with the three judges scoring the contest 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in his favor.