Manager accuses UFC of trying to sabotage Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury - "There's a sour taste in their mouth"
Six months after his departure from the UFC, Francis Ngannou finally has his next opponent. The former heavyweight champion will face WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a boxing match on October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Marquel Martin, who manages 'The Predator, recently accused the UFC of attempting to sabotage the match during an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour. The mixed martial arts manager claimed that Dana White's actions were no surprise, labeling him a "great promoter" before adding:
"When we saw it, we just kind of [were] like of course. Of course you would say on one end it's a gimmick fight - shout out GIMIK Fight Promotions - and then on the other hand, it comes to where it's like, 'oh, no, we'll put that on.'"
He claimed that while the UFC may have wanted Jon Jones to face Fury, there was more to it:
"I think they really just wanted to mess up our chances, to be quite honest. I think, for whatever reason, there's a sour taste in their mouth when it comes to Francis. They don't want Franics to be able to have that opportunity. I think that was clear to us for a while."
Check out Marquel Martin's comments on the UFC below (starting at the 4:05 mark):
While UFC President Dana White had teased having Fury potentially face heavyweight champion Jon Jones, nothing came close to materializing. The WBC heavyweight champion was unwilling to venture into mixed martial arts, while 'Bones' had no interest in a boxing match.
Francis Ngannou's manager on 'The Predator's PFL debut
When Francis Ngannou signed with the PFL, it was announced that he would not make his promotional debut until 2024 as he looked for an opponent for his boxing debut in 2023. Now that his bout with Tyson Fury has been announced, 'The Predator's manager shared when fans can expect to see him return to mixed martial arts.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Marquel Martin stated:
"I would say Q1. I would say Q1... [His opponent is] TBD. Obviously, there's a lot of speculation out there, but we're just going to take care of business on the boxing side and then hopefully by the time we come up out of celebrating that, we'll sit down with the PFL and know who's ready to take that challenge."
Check out Marquel Martin's comments on Francis Ngannou's PFL debut below (starting at the 24:23 mark):