Jake Paul thinks the same thing that happened to Francis Ngannou is now happening to Conor McGregor.
A UFC star through and through, McGregor’s fighting future could look vastly different once he’s out of his promotional contract in two fights from now. McGregor had aimed to complete the remaining fights by the end of this year but his plans were ruined after a broken toe took him out of his scheduled return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June.
McGregor, now 36, has yet to rebook his fight versus Chandler for the desired date of December with some such as Paul speculating the UFC may be trying to stall the Irishman for as long as they have him under contract.
When I get free .
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 24, 2024
Ngannou Feels The UFC Applied Financial Pressure On Him
Former heavyweight champion Ngannou found himself in a similar situation early on in his title reign, fighting out his contract rather than re-signing like the rest of the roster and as a result, waiting a year (thanks to a championship clause) to finally pursue free agency, where he found more freedom than ever, going on to secure big paydays in the sport of boxing against Tyson Fury & Anthony Joshua and now a PFL “super-fight” vs. Renan Ferreira this October.
“I say no to contract, so I have this [feeling] like they were applying this financial pressure on me because they know that I need to fight to make money to live,” Ngannou said on BS w/ Jake Paul. “And then by not getting those fight, giving me excuses all the time, I will probably crawl back and say, okay, I take the contract, I take the money or something like that.”
Ngannou Fought Once In 659 Days As UFC Champion
Following his title win over Stipe Miocic in March 2021, the UFC had offered Francis Ngannou a title defense against Ciryl Gane 133 days later in August with Ngannou wanting September instead. The UFC would go on without Ngannou, creating an interim title that Gane ended up winning and later meeting an injured Ngannou the following January – “The Predator’s” final win and fight in the Octagon.
“That’s what’s happening to Conor McGregor right now for the people at home who don’t understand it,” Paul would go on to explain below.
McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021 for all many reasons with his leg break against Dustin Poirier being the biggest one.
Paul: “Why Conor Is Not Fighting Right Now…”
As McGregor waits his turn for a highly-anticipated return to the UFC, part one of two in getting a better deal there or elsewhere, Paul gives his take on what’s taking so long for the fighting Irish to, you know, fight.
“They’re like, ‘why is Conor not fighting?’ So, Conor has 2 fights left on his fight deal, but the UFC is trying to renew their rights deal because they licensed their content, which are the fights, to platforms. So they’re trying to renew their deal, they’re negotiating with multiple people, but let’s say it’s gonna go with ESPN. They’re trying to renew the deal and get them the most amount of money.
“A part of that negotiation is, hey, we have Conor McGregor for 2 more fights. But if you were to fight now, that wouldn’t be a part of the negotiation. The company would be like, ‘oh, yeah, well, you only have Conor for 1 fight…’ So, that’s why Conor is not fighting right now.”
The UFC media rights deal runs through 2025 with big players in the mix alongside ESPN.
Ngannou Finds More Value In His Freedom Than A Contract
When it comes to fighter contracts, they’re all a bit different with Paul saying the UFC locks you in if you win, leading to fighters being “owned and operated across the board,” applauding Ngannou for doing it all his way, choosing not to re-sign in his own experience.
“What you did is super historic because you chose to get paid less to be able to be free, and then now it’s worked out in your favor because you had 2 of the biggest boxing matches in the past couple of years,” Paul told Ngannou.
“Yeah because I get to the point that I realize that, there is more value in my freedom than what I can get in the contract,” Ngannou replied.
