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Manager reveals Ngannou was close to re-sign with UFC: “Offered the biggest contract outside of Conor”
“The Predator” Francis Ngannou. Photo: Jasen Vinlove – USA TODAY Sports
After leaving the UFC a few months back, MMA heavyweight star Francis Ngannou recently signed a lucrative deal with PFL
Even though his relations with UFC were sour, the former heavyweight champion was very close to re-sign with the promotion. That’s according to his manager Marquel Martin.
“I wasn’t a part of the conversations in the fourth quarter, if you will, and you can probably guess why, but in my conversations post those dinners, there was a real chance that he was going to sign,” Martin recently said at The MMA Hour.
The manager scoffs at the accusations of Ngannou only caring about money.
“Chill. To keep it 100, as they say, this dude got offered the biggest contract outside of Conor [McGregor] before the interim fight with Ciryl and that, and he said no because it wasn’t about just money.”
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Francis Ngannou signed unique deal
The unique deal “The Predator” struck with PFL allows him to compete in MMA as well as boxing, and also made him a minority equity owner, a member of the PFL advisory board, and the chairman of PFL Africa.
The UFC president Dana White is not impressed by the PFL deal though.
“I mean, you’re going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it’s already been like 18 months – he’s fought three times in the last three years. It’s just not what we do here [in the UFC]. The day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen, “White said at this past weekends post-fight press conference.
“PFL’s going to pay this guy to train for a boxing match that may not even happen and that they might not even be involved in. How does that make any sense?”
Read more: Dana White shoots down Ngannou’s PFL deal: “Makes no sense”
