It seems like Israel Adesanya has more to say in support of the former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. This doesn’t come as surprise as former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, former Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou shared a close friendship.
Adesanya had this to say when talking about Francis,
“I’ve been saying the same thing. I’m not gonna harp on about it, but he’s right, it’s little things—he’s asking for things that should be mandatory. He wasn’t asking for, you know, crazy, ridiculous diva-ish demands. There’s something as little as for the guys fighting on the opening [bout], 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 10 and 10, to pay for their fourth or third corner. Little things like that.”
He also added, “He’s not being a diva. He’s asking for reasonable demands, and I felt like he should have got them. But again, yeah, what [the UFC] said was, ‘That’s not how we do business.’ But, the way we do business has to change, and it will change. He’s just the guy to kick in the door, and you never know what the future holds. Maybe he comes back or something.”
What could be next for Israel Adesanya-Francis Ngannou?
The kiwi fighter already has his next title shot against his long-time rival Alex Pereira booked for UFC 287. The fight is almost a must-win bout for the former champ as a loss here could force him to move to another division. However, Izzy seems to realize he can’t do this forever and will likely retire at some point.
On the other hand, Francis has a lot of options in his hand with a potential move to PFL or boxing Tyson Fury. For now, we can wait and observe.
