When the former Heavyweight Champion of the world, Francis Ngannou finally decided to call it quits after failing to reach a proper negotiation with the UFC, many questioned his decision. But now his fellow former UFC middleweight champion, Israel ‘The last stylebender’ Adesanya comes out in his support.
While talking about Ngannou’s decision to move out from the UFC, the 180 lber said, “Francis made the right call. He’s the one that kicked in the door. We’ve all been behind him. We’ve been saying this for how long? If you guys go back on the tapes, I’ve been saying the same thing. I’m not going to harp on about it, but he’s right. It’s little things. He’s asking for things that should be mandatory.”
He added further, “He wasn’t asking for, you know, crazy, ridiculous diva demands. There’s something as little as for the guys fighting on the opening (bouts), having the fourth or third corner man being paid for, and the hotel is being paid for. That sets them up nicely, and they don’t have to fork it out of their $10K and $10K, or maybe even $10K, to pay for their fourth or third corner man – little things like that.”
How justified are the claims of Israel Adesanya?
At one point, Adesanya was one of the highest-paid athletes in the UFC. He still seems to be on good terms with the company and was awarded an immediate rematch against his rival Alex Pereira on UFC 287. But that didn’t stop him from coming out to support his fellow African fighter.
One of the main reasons boxers make so much more money than their UFC counterparts is the open nature of their contracts which allows them to monetize a lot of their assets. While we don’t know the exact terms Ngannou wanted to negotiate, some recurring talks suggest those new terms may have benefitted fighters as a whole.
Where do you think Francis Ngannou fights next?
