In the wake of Jake Paul's "8 figures" tweet, UFC Hall of Famer claims Francis Ngannou could be paid $30 million for Tyson Fury fight
Recently, rumors made the rounds stating that Francis Ngannou was getting paid $8 million for fighting Tyson Fury. They were quickly dismissed by Jake Paul and Ariel Helwani, who both claimed that the Cameroonian fighter is getting paid "eight figures" and not $8 million.
Reacting to the information being corrected, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping speculated that Ngannou could be paid $30 million for the fight with Fury, slated for October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Here's what Michael Bisping said to Anthony Smith on the Believe You Me podcast:
"That fight with Tyson Fury has been made official. It's 12 rounds, professional rules, knockouts allowed - apparently, I'm hearing [that] Francis is going to get somewhere around 30 million dollars."
Skip to 32:13 for Bisping and Smith on Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury:
Anthony Smith responded to Bisping's speculation:
"Jesus! Good for him. I mean, I still kind of stand by what I think, as far as the fight goes but - 30 million dollars, I mean, he would never have to do anything again. Thirty million dollars - that's life-changing. That's generational wealth, you don't have to do sh*t. Good for him."
MMA Fighting has reported that although the 'exhibition' fight won't be for the WBC title, it will go on both fighters' official records.
UFC veteran Chael Sonnen disparages Tyson Fury for his fight with Francis Ngannou
In the aforementioned podcast, Michael Bisping expressed that Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury being an exhibition match was "ridiculous." Former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen, in an interview with The Schmo, hit out at Tyson Fury, calling him a "bully" and a "scumbag" for agreeing to fight the former UFC heavyweight champion:
"You take a guy like Fury, who God made huge, gave great coaches, great training partners, great experience too. He has weapons and tools that other men can't deal with, if they're not armed. And he's going to choose to use those to beat up a guy who's at least 37 [year's old] with no experience, and is on one leg. That's a bully, and it's a scumbag [move]. I would never do that to somebody."
Skip to 7:27 for Sonnen on Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou:
When The Schmo reminded Sonnen that both Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury would make a lot of money from the bout, the former NCAA Division-I wrestler said:
"I'm sure, and Jesse James made a lot of money, and there's hitmen that made a lot of money. There's things that you can do [to make a lot of money]. Own it, you're a bully and you're a scumbag."