Israel Adesanya says 'make sure his story gets told' in photos with Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman

Israel Adesanya recently weighed in on Francis Ngannou's shocking departure from the UFC.

'The Last Stylebender' shared four photos of himself alongside Ngannou and Kamaru Usman ahead of UFC 281. The No.1-ranked middleweight captioned the post:

"👑👑👑 History favors the bold, make sure HIS STORY gets told. As for Us…this will age well, because black don’t crack! ✊🏿"

👑👑👑
History favors the bold, make sure HIS STORY gets told. As for Us…this will age well, because black don’t crack! ✊🏿 https://t.co/jjZbiQMhyg

Adesanya is seemingly showing support for the former UFC heavyweight champion's decision to leave the promotion. While UFC president Dana White made it seem as if Ngannou was targeting a significant pay raise, the MMA free agent denied that on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

He claimed that the real reason for his departure was that the UFC would not meet any of his demands, which included the right to sign sponsorship deals, health insurance, and an advocate to represent fighters in board meetings. Ngannou added that he would not be free under the terms of the new contract.

Watch Francis Ngannou discuss the reasons for his UFC departure below:

.@francis_ngannou explains what he wanted, other than money, from the UFC in negotiations 📝 #TheMMAHour

The list included:
• The right to sponsorship
• Health insurance
• A fighter advocate to represent the fighters in meetings

▶️ youtu.be/0vngym7ChcM https://t.co/5dwxY0Sx67

Francis Ngannou shares that "principle" caused UFC exit

Francis Ngannou's shocking departure from the UFC came down to a "matter of principle", not money. Ngannou recently discussed his last conversation with the promotion while speaking with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, stating:

"The last time [the two sides spoke] was Tuesday, last Tuesday. They said they have to make a fight [on] March 4. They have to announce that fight, so they said, 'Let's try one more time.' We get on the phone, and I couldn't say yes about some things. It was a matter of principle."

Ngannou added that at that point he knew his time with the promotion would be coming to an end. He shared that he spent the next two days going back-and-forth on whether he had done anything wrong before coming to the conclusion that it was not wrong to stick to his principles. It remains to be seen what comes next for Ngannou.

Catch Francis Ngannou's comments below (8:37):