Francis Ngannou will accept contracts that pay less than what UFC offered, says his exit was not about money
Francis Ngannou is currently a free agent after recently parting ways with the UFC and vacating his heavyweight title.
In the immediate aftermath of Ngannou's UFC exit, Dana White claimed that 'The Predator' turned down a record-breaking contract. The former UFC heavyweight champ recently clarified that his career decisions won't be influenced solely by money.
Ngannou claims that he might be excited for a deal with another promotion that is financially less lucrative but values him more as a person than the UFC's deal. The 35-year-old told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn:
"The money is very important obviously but as I said, the structure, the approach, the term of the contract... is even more important. So I will not disclose anything and someone could be more than what I have turned down, someone could be less, but I wouldn't be surprised [if], I mean I get excited about a contract which is less what I get. Because honestly, I see more value in that contract which is not financially [superior] but still have value for me as a person. I've been seeking for a value you know."
Catch Ngannou's comments below:
Francis Ngannou is currently being courted by every MMA promotion around the globe as he plots a crossover boxing super fight. 'The Predator' recently revealed that he will be returning to MMA but not before one boxing fight.
Francis Ngannou reveals UFC contract amount for the Jon Jones fight
According to Dana White, the deal turned down by Francis Ngannou was bigger than Brock Lesnar's UFC deal.
Ngannou refused to buy into such claims without any statistical evidence during an appearance on The MMA Hour. Ariel Helwani pointed out that he heard Brock Lesnar's UFC deal was worth $8 million. Ngannou agreed that his deal for the Jones fight was "around" the same amount.
The deal breaker, however, was that Francis Ngannou didn't want a standard UFC contract. 'The Predator' told Helwani:
“In that contract, I’m not free. I’m not an independent contractor. I have no rights. I hand over all the power to you guys. I’ve seen in the past how you guys can utilize your power against me, and I don’t want that.”
Catch Ngannou's comments below: