ONE Championship will not be the landing place for heavyweight Francis Ngannou.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is still a free agent. After deciding to leave the UFC back in January, Ngannou has been carefully plotting his next move. He parted ways with his longtime organization following negotiation issues. Ngannou wants the freedom to be able to move seamlessly between the boxing world and MMA. The UFC was not willing to grant that.
Since his departure, Ngannou has been targeting boxing matches with some of the world’s biggest-named fighters. He was looking to line himself up against Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder. Although none of these fights have been made yet, he remains optimistic. After his boxing match, Ngannou stated that he wants to return to MMA. He had a few promotions interested but now ONE Championship has pulled out of the running.
ONE Championship will not be making an offer to Francis Ngannou
It seemed as though things were really heating up between Ngannou and the Asian-based fight promotion, ONE Championship. Talks have been ongoing between the two parties for some time now. Despite the interest from both sides, ONE Championship is now moving away from the negotiation table. According to Chatri Sityodtong, the CEO of ONE Championship, a deal could not be made.
“I met with Francis yesterday for almost 3 hours,” Chatri told SCMP.com. “ONE has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding for Francis Ngannou’s services. After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. Francis is a good guy and a good champion. I wish him continued success and happiness. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”
Ngannou seems to have burned his bridge with the UFC as Dana White mentioned never wanting him to come back. Now without ONE Championship in the mix, it seems PFL and Bellator could be the only two landing spots left. Bellator was been interested but it seems Ngannou is looking for a very specific kind of contract. PFL could be the new frontrunner.
