"Stylish and non-blurry" - Francis Ngannou takes cheeky dig at UFC as he promotes his apparel ahead of Tyson Fury fight
Since his UFC exit earlier this year, Francis Ngannou and the promotion have constantly fired shots at each other.
'The Predator' left the company after failed contract negotiations and has since signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
It looks like the UFC brass hasn't forgotten the bitter parting. On a recent episode of UFC Embedded, Kamaru Usman was wearing a T-shirt supporting Ngannou for his upcoming boxing fight against Tyson Fury. The shirt was blurred out.
Ngannou was quick to respond. In a post on X, he wrote:
"Hey, bro @USMAN84kg that's a nice shirt you have there, but I can't see what is in front 😉🤔 @rootsoffight."
In an update, 'The Predator' seemingly threw shade at the MMA promotion, posting multiple pictures of his latest apparel collection. He wrote:
"Stylish and non-blurry. 😉 Get the official @rootsoffight x Ngannou collection here ahead of #FuryNgannou."
Francis Ngannou is slated to face WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, the heavyweight title won't be on the line for the event.
Unsurprisingly, 'The Predator' is a massive underdog for the fight. As per Forbes Betting, the Cameroon-born French national is a +700 underdog for the contest, with Fury a -1250 favorite.
Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman is set to make his middleweight debut against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 on Saturday, October 21, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Francis Ngannou reiterates the pay issue in the UFC
UFC fighter pay has always been a point of contention with allegations that the promotion compensates many of its fighters worse than some other smaller organizations.
During a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Francis Ngannou gave his perspective on the fighter pay in the UFC.
The 37-year-old former heavyweight champion stated that his entire UFC career earnings are not even half of what he would bag for his PFL debut:
"I just realized if I combine all the salary I've made in MMA, it can't even be half... of what I'm going to make in my next MMA fight. Let's not go to boxing... let's stay on MMA... So I don't know what you think about that, but for me, it is a huge difference."
Catch Francis Ngannou's comments below (6:00):