Eric Nicksick, coach and friend of Francis Ngannou is giving a little insight into the contract offered by the UFC.
Over the past few years, notable MMA coach Eric Nicksick has gotten very close with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou. The two work together and spend a great deal of time together personally. Recently Ngannou was in the news for failing to come to an agreement with the UFC and in turn leaving the organization. Much has been said about Ngannou’s decision to become a free agent and now his friend/coach is giving a little more insight into the decision.
Nicksick spoke a bit about the offer that was made to Nagnnou and why he felt it was not sufficient.
Eric Nicksick explains that a loss to Jon Jones would leave Francis Ngannou making little more than Alistair Overeem was making
Ngannou had been unhappy with the UFC for quite a while. He was looking for a new contract to be put in place before he returned to the cage following his knee surgery. The plan was for him to face Jon Jones for the heavyweight title but after not coming to an agreement, Ngannou parted ways with the UFC and Jones will now face Ciryl Gane for the belt. Nicksick explained that although the numbers offered to Nagnnou to face Jones were good, it left too much uncertainly on the table if he were to lose.
“I just know when it came to my guy those are things that he was worried about,” he said on
John Eric Poli’s YouTube page. “He was like, man, if I lose this fight, I lose all my protection. The number was drastically dropped. Yes, he was gonna get paid great money to fight Jon Jones but the next question was, what happens if you were to lose? Then it’s like he’s back down at the bottom again, you know the number was, I think for him, the number that they gave just didn’t seem fair, it didn’t make any sense. Basically, he was gonna get paid a little bit more than Alistair Overeem was being paid… If you were to lose to Jon Jones you’re dropping pay was quite exponential, so it didn’t make any sense for him.”
Ngannou was not only after money in his new contract, he has been pushing for better benefits for fighters for a while now. He wants UFC fighters to have healthcare, freedom to explore outside sponsorship and opportunities, and better pay all around. Since no agreement was made, Ngannou is now free to explore other opportunities such as a move to boxing if he wants to.
